True Feelings
by nobodD
Summary: She can't complain. She's the one who pushed everyone together. Over time, she got µ's together, with each other! But, µ's has nine members, and with everyone else dating each other, what does that leave her with? Will she have to watch over her dear friends, alone? Or will she find comfort from an unexpected person? HonokaxTsubasa.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

She did this. She wanted to do this. She couldn't help it. It went against everything she believed in if she didn't do everything she could to help others. Especially when they're her best friends, and her fellow idols. And once she set her mind to something, there was absolutely nothing that could stop her.

It took a little while, but everything finally worked out. She managed to accomplish some of her biggest goals. Now was usually the time where one could look back over their work and admire their accomplishments.

This, however, wasn't the same.

Yes, she did put a lot of work into this. She had seen the signs before anyone else did. She took the time to plan things out, see things through. She made sure that things would go as smoothly as possible, no matter what. She made sure things would work out.

The one the she didn't plan for, was the price she would pay after everything was said and done. The one thing she didn't realize, was how she would be affected as a result.

It was too late for her now. The damage was done. And as she left the nurse's office to go home, Kousaka Honoka could only wipe another tear from her eye and tell herself that it's for the best.

The ginger-haired girl walked slowly through the hallways of Otonokizaka High School. She could only smile lightly as she recalled some of her fondest memories she's made at this school. But her smile was short-lived.

She walked by her classroom, with the door slightly opened. She had her bag with her already, so she didn't need to go inside. Not that she wanted to go inside. Not only because it was the end of classes for the day, but because her two best friends were probably still in there. She made the mistake of looking into the classroom once before, knowing they were alone in there. While she knew they wouldn't do anything inappropriate, it still tore at her heart when she saw just how close she made them.

Minami Kotori and Sonoda Umi had been her best friends since childhood. The three of them were almost inseparable. Though, she noticed things changing since entering high school. And once they were all together in Muse, it became even more noticeable. The way they looked at each other was different. The way they acted near each other, how they spoke, their reactions to certain phrases, it was all different. She caught on to her best friends' growing feelings for each other. So she did what any best friend would. She got them together.

Honoka sighed before she continued her slow walk down the hall. _They're probably in there kissing again, _she thought to herself.

The image of the scene she accidentally walked in on would have gone through her mind again, if it weren't for where she was. Stopping again, Honoka turned to look up some stairs. These stairs were the ones they would take to get to the rooftop, where Muse had their dance practices. Right now, it only held one meaning to Honoka, which screamed for her to avoid like her classroom.

Hoshizora Rin and Koizumi Hanayo were two of Muse's three first-year members. Like her with Kotori and Umi, Rin and Hanayo have been best friends since childhood. They were a little harder to get together, as neither of them knew or thought much about love, especially of them being lovers instead of best friends. But they had been showing signs, they started to show interest. And of course, Honoka wanted to help them.

They had kindly asked to be alone on the rooftop every now and then to spend more quality time with each other. Or, it used to be like that. Now, at least it seemed to Honoka, they were there almost all the time. Then again, the only other time she saw the two of them were during Muse activities. Still, Honoka knew not to even dare to wander up there. So she continued walking again.

The next thing she knew, or was aware of at least, she heard a loud noise nearby. She snapped out of her thoughts and turned to the source, only to regret that she did. She found herself outside of the clubroom, the noise most likely from inside.

Nishikino Maki and Yazawa Nico, first-year and third-year members, respectively. They were also a handful for Honoka to help. If anything, their feelings for each other were the most obvious to figure out. The thing was, neither would ever admit it. That's something they both shared. They had a hard time showing their true feelings, especially to each other.

Well, that sound made Honoka wish that was still the case. They are Muse's first couple, and in the time since that day, they've mostly gotten over the difficulties of showing their feelings for each other. Their displays of affection were something Honoka wish they would go back to having trouble with. Even if she is the leader of Muse, the sounds she sometimes heard outside the clubroom door had made her skip a few meetings already. While there was no meeting today, she didn't want to find out if they were doing _those _things in the clubroom again. She quickened her pace past the clubroom.

Last but not least, she passed the Student Council room. No doubt Ayase Eli and Toujou Nozomi were in there. They were the Student Council President and Vice President, respectively, as well as the last two members of Muse. And while Eli was everything you would expect a good president to be, Nozomi was somewhat the opposite. She wasn't bad or anything, but she had a very mischievous side to her. They often worked alone in the Student Council room, as they stayed late after school. She wouldn't really put it passed Nozomi, or maybe even Eli for that matter, to try a few things with all that privacy.

The two third years have a familiar story. Best friends who slowly started to grow feelings for each other during high school. And like the first and second year couples, Honoka had helped them figure it out. Or, she helped Eli figure things out. Nozomi had seemingly given the topic a lot of thought already, as when she brought the two together, Nozomi worked the courage to make her feelings crystal clear to the blond.

After what felt like forever, Honoka finally made it outside the school buildings. A strong wind blew, and Honoka brought her free hand to her skirt to keep it from the wind's control. Once the quick breeze passed, she looked up to the sky. There were a lot of clouds overhead.

Honoka frowned. She might have heard that the weather wasn't going to be good today. But after spending the last twenty or so minutes crying to herself in the nurse's office, she no longer had the energy to care. She pulled on her jacket sleeves, as if trying to stretch it to cover a little more of her hands, and started walking toward her home.

One street. Three streets. Wasn't she supposed to turn there? Yes, but Honoka was lost in her thoughts to pay attention to where she was walking. She walked down another street before she realized she wasn't heading home anymore. She looked around her, trying to get her bearings.

It didn't take her long to figure out where she was. She ended up at a nearby park, a place she had come to so often as a child. The park itself wasn't anything special, but it was right nearby a lake. With the right weather and at the right time, it had some of the prettiest views Honoka has ever seen. But with the cloudy weather today, there was no such view to enjoy.

Not wanting to turn back to head home, Honoka decided to sit on one of the benches facing the lake. She could hear the sound of some kids playing in the playground behind her, nut not even that was enough to distract her from her thoughts.

"So, this is how it's going to be huh?" she said to herself.

Passing by on the lake she saw one of those boats made for couple's to enjoy together. The site didn't do much for her, as it just reminded her of the rest of Muse again. She silently cursed at her luck.

"I guess I was asking for this all along.." She shook her head. "I guess I really am an idiot."

Did this really make sense? All she wanted to do was help her friends. She wanted to make them happy.

"And yet..."

_Oh.. no.._

"...yet..."

_Don't... don't do it..._

"Why am I the only one that ends up like this?!"

The tears started flowing once again. As if her shouting upset her surroundings, or something was trying to hide her crying, it started to rain. From behind her she could hear the sounds of parents and kids talking and rushing to get out of the rain. She should be running too, but Honoka didn't see the point. She continued to sit still on the bench. Her clothes were getting soaked, but she didn't want to move.

"What's the point... I'm probably better off just crying here until the rain stops."

"Trust me. No one, especially you, deserves something as cruel as that," came a voice behind her.

The next thing she knew, she couldn't feel the rain falling on her anymore. Surprised by the stranger's kindness, she turned around to face them. Except, all she could do after was stare in absolute shock. For standing there, holding her umbrella overhead and wearing a warm smile, was the last person Honoka would have expected to meet here.

"Kira... Tsubasa?"

* * *

**Hey guys, nobodD here!**

**So, here's something I didn't think I'd be posting yet. I was planning on holding onto any story involving A-Rise until after season 2 ended. But between the last few eps and not having a one-shot I'm totally satisfied with, I felt like this might be a better time than any.**

**This is just the prologue. I'm curious to see if you guys would be interested in this story idea. If a lot of you are, then I can continue with this. If not, then it'll disappear after a few days.. ;)**

**Also don't worry. I won't make the rest of this story sad or anything if people wish to see more. But I felt this was the best way for the prologue to go to set up the story. It's also based off a photo from pixiv I saw a while ago.**

****Reminder about the poll for "The Center of µ's" Sequel**  
****The poll will be up for another week. You have until Monday, June 23 to vote on how you want the sequel to be written, or if you don't want a sequel at all.**

**That's all from me. Hope to see you around~**


	2. Warmth

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

"Kira... Tsubasa? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question, Honoka. Or more importantly, why are you just sitting here? Come on."

Tsubasa grabbed one of Honoka's hands and pulled her up from the bench. Quickly, she turned around and led Honoka out of the park. They hurried down a few streets and eventually turned into an area Honoka wasn't familiar with.

Soon enough, they reached the house Tsubasa wanted. They passed through the front and reached the door. Tsubasa let go of Honoka's hand to knock on the door. After a few knocks, she grabbed Honoka again and pulled her close, making sure they were both under the umbrella and out of the rain.

"W-wha.."

Everything was happening too fast for Honoka right now. Suddenly meeting Tsubasa at the park while it was raining. Then being dragged by her almost without a second thought to someone's house. And now, she was being held this close by Tsubasa. Honoka just didn't know what to think at the moment.

"Sorry. Hang in there a little longer, alright?" Tsubasa said, giving a small smile to Honoka.

"O-okay.."

Time seemed to stand still to Honoka right now. All she could think about at the moment was how close she was to Tsubasa. Honoka felt strange being this close to someone other than her family or Muse. And it was Kira Tsubasa, no less. Because they were both under the umbrella, Tsubasa was holding Honoka right against her, their faces only centimeters apart.

Things were about the same for Tsubasa. She had acted almost instinctively at the park earlier just wanting to help someone get out of the rain. Yet, that person turned out to be Kousaka Honoka. And rather than just finding some cover from the rain, she had brought Muse's center all the way here, of all places, and with no warning. And now, she was holding her with one arm, protecting both of them from the rain. And they were so close. If she leaned in just slightly, she could...

"Ah, Tsubasa-chan. You didn't tell me you were bringing a friend along."

The two girls turned to the new voice, finally aware that the door had opened. Honoka was once again in shock as she recognized the girl, realizing whose house they had just arrived at.

"Y- Yuuki Anju?"

"Oh my, why are your clothes all soaked?" Anju asked once Tsubasa had turned and she could see more of Honoka. "Hurry, come inside. I'll get some towels."

Anju hurried further into her house. Tsubasa closed her umbrella and with Honoka they entered the house and closed the door behind them. Anju returned quickly with the towels, handing them to Tsubasa. Then she turned and disappeared into the hall again. Tsubasa handed Honoka a towel. Taking the other towel, she helped Honoka dry off. Soon enough, Anju returned once again, this time with some clothes.

"Here, you can borrow these while we dry your clothes."

"Thanks." Honoka said, taking the clothes.

"I'll show you where the bathroom is."

Honoka and Tsubasa removed their shoes, and Anju led them through the house. They reached the end of the hallway, where Anju stopped and indicated the bathroom. Honoka said a short thanks before she disappeared inside.

"Quite the catch you got, isn't she?" Anju whispered to Tsubasa.

"W-what are you talking about?"

"I'll go make some hot cocoa. You two can wait in my room when she's done. Just don't let me catch you two doing anything."

With a wink and a smile, Anju walked passed Tsubasa and headed for the kitchen. Tsubasa was left in the hall, staring after her, completely confused.

"She just says whatever she want, as always."

"Who does?"

Tsubasa turned, a bit surprised that Honoka had changed fairly quickly. Though, she was quickly distracted by another thought.

"Those clothes fit you rather well," she said.

"Ah- you think so?"

Honoka looked at what she was wearing again. It was just a simple light orange shirt and white shorts. She was confused by Tsubasa's compliment, as she didn't think the clothes were anything special.

Tsubasa nodded. "Yeah. We might have to ask Anju to let you keep those."

"If you say so." Honoka shrugged, making Tsubasa laugh.

"Come on, Anju said we can wait for her in her room."

Tsubasa led Honoka through the house and into Anju's room. Honoka looked around as she entered, a little surprised. She wasn't sure why, but she was kind of expecting Anju's room to be somewhat fancy. But Anju's room was about as normal as her own room, just not as messy.

Something in particular caught Honoka's eye, though. She walked over to Anju's desk. It was a fairly big desk, but there wasn't much space to work with. It was filled with a lot of pictures, some of which were Anju with her friends. But what interested Honoka was what most of the pictures were.

"Wow. I didn't think she would keep all of these on her desk," Tsubasa said as she came up next to Honoka.

"Tsubasa... you-"

"Yes. Anju and I dated, briefly."

She picked up one of the photos. The picture was her and Anju together for Christmas. The outfits were for their class party at UTX, which A-Rise performed a song for the occasion. She smiled as she remembered that day.

"Briefly? What happened?"

"She did it to help me get someone else's attention," came a third voice.

Both turned around and found Anju at the door, holding a tray with three mugs. She smiled as she saw the picture in Tsubasa's hands.

"Heh, yeah. That plan worked like a charm too." Tsubasa said. "They've been together ever since."

"Who are you with now?" Honoka asked.

Tsubasa put down the picture she was holding and picked up another, showing it to Honoka. This picture was Anju with another familiar face.

"Erena, huh.." Honoka said as she looked at the picture. "But, why would you need to make her jealous? Aren't you all friends?"

"Some people aren't always honest with their feelings. Sometimes they need a little push to get things going," Tsubasa said.

"Well, our time together wasn't bad either. I actually quite enjoyed it," Anju said as she made her way to the desk. She set the tray down and handed a mug to Tsubasa. As she handed Honoka a mug, she leaned close to her ear and whispered, "She's quite the kisser as well, just so you know."

"W-wha?" Honoka was surprised that Anju would tell her something like that.

"Hm? What did you just tell her?" Tsubasa asked.

"Oh, nothing," Anju said with a smile.

Tsubasa gave her a confused look. Honoka decided to leave it be and took a sip from her mug. Since she arrived at Anju's house, she kind of forgot how cold she was feeling earlier. She was reminded of that, as her drink warmed her up and she started to feel relaxed. A gentle sigh escaped her lips.

"Heh, glad you like it," Anju said, amused by watching Honoka.

"Feeling better?" Tsubasa asked.

Honoka nodded. "I feel fine now, thanks."

"I put your clothes into the dryer. When they're done I can let you borrow an umbrella if it's still raining," Anju said after taking another sip from her mug.

"Thanks. Sorry for imposing on you like this."

"Oh it's no trouble. It's not like you had a choice anyway."

"Hey now, she was sitting alone in the rain, letting herself get soaked," Tsubasa said defensively. "I wasn't going to leave her like that."

"Oh I know." Anju grinned. "Lucky you it started raining, huh?"

"H-hey!"

Honoka watched as the two friends continued their exchanged. Even though they weren't saying details, she knew they were talking about her. She starting spacing out as she drank more of her hot cocoa, but was shortly interrupted.

"So, Honoka," Tsubasa said. "Can I ask you something?"

"Hm? What is it?"

"Well.. it's about earlier. Why were you crying at the park?"

Honoka froze. She wasn't expecting Tsubasa to bring that up right now.

"A-ah.. Uh..." she stuttered.

"You were crying earlier?" Anju asked, completely surprised to hear this.

"Y-yeah.. I was..."

Honoka was hesitant. She didn't really know if she wanted to tell them what was on her mind lately. Not that she didn't trust them, but she would rather not go back to thinking about those things right now.

"It's alright if you don't want to talk about it," Anju said, as if hearing Honoka's thoughts.

"Yeah, we were just making sure you're okay," Tsubasa said.

"Thanks." Then she decided. "I was helping the others in Muse find partners and be happy. It was nice at first, until I realized that I was kind of the odd one out. They all had each other, but I didn't have someone like that. Today was one of those days I just my feelings out. Though, usually no one is around to notice."

Tsubasa and Anju exchanged silent glances at each other. Neither really knew how to respond after hearing Honoka.

"O-oh.. I'm sorry.." was all Tsubasa could say.

"Ah, no no. It's alright," Honoka said quickly. "It's a small price to pay for everyone else's sake."

"Are you sure?" Anju asked. "That sounds very painful to deal with every day."

"Yeah, it's nothing! I'll be fine. I'll be..." Honoka trailed off.

"Honoka, you don't have to act strong in front of us," Tsubasa said. "If it's hard on you, just say it. Otherwise you'll end up just like you were at the park earlier. And I'm sure that the other members of Muse wouldn't want to see you in so much pain."

Honoka lowered her head. Everything Tsubasa said made sense. Yet she wasn't really sure how she should act, either. She's never experienced something like this before.

"Uh.. Honoka?" Honoka being silent with her head down made Tsubasa nervous.

"You're right," Honoka said finally. She looked back up at Tsubasa and smiled. "Thanks, Tsubasa. That helps a lot."

The girls sat in silence for a few minutes as they finished up their drinks. Anju mentioned that Honoka's clothes should be dry, so the three girls left the room. Honoka retrieved her clothes and changed in the bathroom again. Once she was done, they went to the front door.

"Sorry again for intruding all of a sudden," Honoka said as she finished putting her shoes on.

"It was no problem at all. Here you go," Anju said, handing Honoka an umbrella. "Don't worry, I'll have Tsubasa come pick that up another time."

"Why me?" Tsubasa asked. "It's y our umbrella."

Anju just smiled and patted Tsubasa's shoulder. Honoka giggled before opening the door.

"Well, thanks for today," Honoka said.

"Have a safe trip," Tsubasa said.

Honoka waved goodbye and closed the door behind her. Right after, Anju handed Tsubasa her umbrella.

"What are you doing?" Tsubasa asked.

"Go walk her home," Anju said simply.

"W-what?"

"Hurry, before she gets too far."

"Wait, but we planned to hang out today."

Anju smiled. "Come on, we both know which of the two choices you'd rather pick right now." Anju finally just started pushing Tsubasa toward the door. "We can hang out another day. Now go."

"Alright, alright. Sorry."

Tsubasa left the house, opened her umbrella, and ran after Honoka. Anju watched from inside, a smile still on her face as she watched her friend go.

"You weren't the only one with plans," she said, as she saw someone walking toward the door.

"Was that Tsubasa just now?" Erena asked.

"Why yes. But you can ask her about that tomorrow."

Erena barely closed her umbrella when Anju pulled her into the house and closed the door. They quickly made their way to Anju's room, to share some quality time together.

* * *

**Hey guys, nobodD here!**

**Originally I had the idea for this chapter placed somewhere else, where it would be just Honoka and Tsubasa. But then I saw an opportunity to get some more back story in, as well as have a little fun X3 **

**This took a little longer than I wanted it to take to publish, but I hope you all still liked it. We'll get into more cheerful stuff soon, I promise X3**

**Thanks for reading, and see you next time~**


	3. New Experiences

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

"Alright, alright. That's enough everyone."

"Aww, come on, a little more."

"Nozomi wai-"

Eli was silenced by Nozomi as the spiritual girl locked lips with the student council president. This was about the fourth time already that Eli was interrupted as she tried to start Muse's meeting, and every time by Nozomi. Their meeting should have stared ten minutes ago.

"We really should start soon.." Umi said as she watched Nozomi continue to attack Eli's lips with her own.

"As long as we can stay like this, I don't mind," Kotori said.

Umi looked down at Kotori, who was laying down on the couch with her head resting in Umi's lap.

"Well.. I wouldn't mind.. but I don't think Eli would allow this."

"Eheh, that's too bad."

"Doesn't look like anyone else minds that we haven't started yet."

Kotori looked around and saw what Umi meant. In a corner of the clubroom, Rin and Hanayo were sleeping together. In another part of the room, Nico and Maki were having their own little make-out session.

"Everyone is enjoying themselves at least," Kotori said.

"Yeah..."

Kotori noticed something different in the way Umi responded.

"Umi-chan? Is something wrong?"

"I think so... like... something is missing."

Kotori looked around again, not really sure what Umi meant. But after a moment, she realized exactly what was missing.

"Where's Honoka-chan?"

* * *

"Well, I'm here."

Rather than going to the clubroom as usual, and dealing with everyone's love sessions, Honoka ditched Muse's meeting. Instead, she made plans to visit some cafe in town with a certain someone. It may not be the best reason so skip out on Muse, but Honoka wasn't comfortable handling it right now. _They'll understand in time, maybe,_ she thought to herself.

Just then, her thoughts were interrupted by her stomach.

"Sounds like someone's hungry," came another voice.

"Huh?"

Honoka spun around, recognizing the voice. Though, it wasn't someone from Muse.

"Tsubasa-san!"

"Hey there," she said smiling.

"So, where is this cafe you were talking about?"

Tsubasa pointed ahead of them. "It's just down the street. Think your stomach can hold until then?"

"Hey, I'm no-" Honoka's stomach growled again. She blushed slightly in embarrassment. "Uwah..."

Tsubasa giggled. "Come on, let's go."

Together they walked down the street to the cafe. Yesterday, Tsubasa mentioned that this cafe is new and only opened recently. As they stepped through the entrance, Honoka looked around. Everything looked new, and not many people were here right now. Honoka felt like there was a certain elegance to the cafe as they sat down at their table.

"In the mood for anything in particular?" Tsubasa asked as she picked up a menu.

"Not sure.."

Honoka picked up a menu as well. They were quite fancy menus, compared to what Honoka usually sees. She started making faces as she read the menu. Tsubasa looked up and noticed.

"Hey, you alright?"

"Eheh, yeah.. It's just, I don't usually eat in this kind of places. I'm a bit overwhelmed I guess."

" Say no more, I'll handle the orders then."

"Ah, Tsubasa."

Honoka and Tsubasa looked at the new voice, which seemed to be their waitress. Honoka felt she looked somewhat familiar, but she couldn't really tell.

"Hey, I came like I said I would."

"Well, are we all ready?" the waitress asked.

Honoka waited patiently as Tsubasa recited the orders. She wasn't quite what each item was, or which were for her. Either way, there was another question on her mind, but she waited for the waitress to leave before she asked.

"Do you know her, Tsubasa-san?" Honoka asked.

Tsubasa frowned slightly. "You know you don't have to be so formal. We're friends right?"

"Ah, sorry! You're right."

"Honoka..." Tsubasa giggled. "Relax. Anyway, yes I do know her. She goes to UTX with me. She told me about this place, since she works part time here."

"Oh, alright."

"Yeah.. So, are you sure this is alright?"

"What is?"

"For you to be missing a meeting for Muse. You are the center, after all."

Honoka sighed. "Honestly, I'm not sure. I mean, I know I shouldn't be skipping.. but at the same time, I don't want to go and face everyone else right now."

"You know, you'll have to face them eventually."

"I know... but not until-."

Just then, they heard a phone start ringing. They both pulled out their phones, finding out that it was Honoka's phone that was ringing. Her eyes widened as she looked at the contact.

"It's Umi-chan.."

"Do you think something happened that they need to be calling you?"

"Well... I didn't exactly tell them I was leaving."

"...Wait. You didn't tell them?"

Honoka shook her head. "No. I didn't think it would really matter. But I guess I wasn't expecting them to notice quickly and call."

Tsubasa looked at the phone. "So.. are you going to answer it?"

The phone rang for a few more seconds. Making up her mind, Honoka pressed one of the options, then held the phone up for Tsubasa to see. She rejected the call.

"Are you sure about this?" Tsubasa asked, surprised by Honoka's choice.

Honoka nodded. "I've done a lot to make them all happy. I deserve a little happiness of my own."

Just then, Tsubasa's friend returned with their orders. Honoka looked at her plate as it was placed in front of her, not expecting Tsubasa to order this for her. She waited for her friend to leave before she said anything.

"Cake?"

"Yup. Trust me, try some. Just remember to work it off later."

She looked doubtful, but picked up the fork and took a piece anyway. As she bit into it, her earlier thoughts about the others vanished in an instant.

"Mm.. It's strawberry.."

The look of pure bliss Honoka had made Tsubasa smile. She just planned on the desert treat to relax her. She didn't realize exactly how well that would work, though. Honoka looked a lot more relaxed than she did earlier when they were talking about her friends.

"Thanks for taking me here, Tsubasa." Honoka said after they finished.

"My pleasure." She took another sip of her water. "Feeling better now?"

"Mhm, a lot better."

"Good. So, are you ready to go?"

Honoka tilted her head. "Go where?"

"Well, you're already missing your meeting. So we might as well make the most of it. We're going around town."

"Around town?"

"Sure. We can go shopping, or visit the arcade." She shrugged. "Whatever you want."

Honoka sat there and considered it for a few minutes.

"Mm.. alright. Actually, there's one place I want to stop by before we do anything else."

"Oh? Alright then, lead the way."

Tsubasa handled the bill, and they left the cafe. Their walk was somewhat quiet, as neither really talked much. This left Tsubasa to her thoughts, as she was wondering where Honoka would want to go. Lost in her thoughts, she nearly bumped into Honoka as she stopped in front of the place she wanted to go. Tsubasa looked at the building, finding it wasn't something she was really expecting.

"A bookstore?"

"Don't be so surprised," Honoka said with a smile. "I don't exactly read the way you're thinking."

Tsubasa gave a confused look as Honoka led the way into the bookstore. She followed Honoka through a few different sections until Honoka finally stopped to look. As Tsubasa stood next to her, she looked at the books on the shelves.

"Manga, huh? I'll be honest, I'm not that surprised."

"Eh? What's that supposed to mean?" Honoka asked with a smile. She ran her finger along the spines of a row of books, counting numbers out loud until she found the volume she was looking for.

"Well, it's not that surprising, is it?"

"Umi-chan and Kotori-chan were surprised when they found out." She opened the book and started flipping through pages. "Ah, it's not this one."

"What about the others?"

"You mean Muse? They don't know. Really, only Kotori-chan and Umi-chan know, aside from my sister." She placed the book back and pulled out another one.

"They don't? Why not?"

"Well, it's not like it's very important to know, right? It just never came up."

"It might be to some people.." Tsubasa said under her breath.

Unknown to her, Honoka still heard her comment. But she pretended to be focused on the book and missed the comment. She decided to move the conversation away from her a little.

"Do you read manga a lot, Tsubasa?"

"Me? Not really..I-"

"Great." Honoka got up and shoved a book into Tsubasa's hands.

"Eh? What's this?"

"Your new manga. Give it a try when you get the chance."

"A-alright."

"Great! And when you're finished, you can come over and I can let you borrow the rest of the books."

"You have the rest of the books?"

Honoka nodded. "Yup! The whole series. I'll give you a hint, it's one of my favorites."

"Then.. if I can borrow it from you, why do I have to buy the first book?"

"Trust me, you'll want to keep it." Honoka smiled. "You just don't realize it yet."

"Is it really that good?" she asked as she studied the cover.

"Mm... well there's that, too. I'm sure it'll make more sense later."

Tsubasa eyed Honoka. "You're being awfully vague right now."

Honoka made an innocent face. "I'm sorry. I hope you'll forgive me."

"A-alright alright, just stop with that face. It hurts you know."

"Oh, I know. You don't get around a strict friend like Umi-chan by just asking things."

Honoka giggled as Tsubasa let out a sigh. Honoka grabbed a few more books and they went to buy the books. As they were about to, Honoka took the book back from Tsubasa and paid for it before Tsubasa could say anything.

"You didn't have to do that.."

"Just think of it as a gift from me."

"But still-"

Honoka put a finger on Tsubasa's lips to silence her. "Nope. This is a symbol of our friendship. Alright?"

"...When you put it like that..." she let out a defeated sigh.

Honoka smiled. "That settles that then."

"Well since you want to play like that.." Tsubasa grabbed hold of Honoka's hand and started leading her.

"Eh? Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

Honoka almost had a bad feeling about this. But the place Tsubasa had in mind wasn't that far, as they entered another building soon enough. Honoka looked around. It was a small accessory shop. She quickly realized what Tsubasa was planning. As she was about to protest, Tsubasa turned around.

"You bought me the book as a sign of our friendship, so it's only fair I buy you something in return."

"Guess I had that coming, didn't I?"

Tsubasa gave a smile that told Honoka she was right. Slowly, Tsubasa started browsing through everything. She picked up a few things and would place it against Honoka to see how it looked. Then she put them back, not satisfied.

"Ah, how about this?"

She picked up a small orange flower necklace. She held it against Honoka, smiling.

"Perfect. This will work wonderfully, don't you think?"

"Mm.. well it's cute."

"I think so, too. It definitely matches you."

Satisfied, they bought the necklace. Right after, Tsubasa took out the necklace and put it around Honoka's neck. She went back in front of Honoka to admire the look for a little, smiling.

"Yup, it definitely fits you."

"T-thanks." She looked at her phone. "Ah.. I should be getting home soon."

"Already?"

"Yeah. I have to help out with my family's store a little today."

"Ah.. Alright."

Honoka caught the subtle hint in Tsubasa's voice. "Would you like to walk me home again? I can give you some sweets to take home."

Tsubasa smiled. "That sounds great."

Together, they started walking toward Honoka's house. They took a slightly different route, to avoid running into anyone from school. They also walked a little slower than normal, as if they knew the other didn't want to part just yet.

* * *

**Hey guys, nobodD here!**

**Well, not really much to say about this chapter. Friendships gotta start somewhere right? As for the manga part, well it was me trying to not write another dress-up scene X3 Also because Honoka had all those books in her room (not very neatly, according to Yukiho) so I figured that'd be a great way to kick things off.**

**Yeah, Honoka's a little out of character in this. Okay.. maybe a lot. But hey, it might make things more fun X3**

**Alright, that's it from me. See you next time, hopefully when I'm done being emotional about season2 ending... haha. Bye for now~**


	4. Interactions

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

Umi and Kotori had approached Honoka as soon as the lunch break started. Immediately she knew she had no way to avoid it this time.

"So, what happened to you yesterday?"

"What do you mean?" Honoka asked, doing her best to look confused.

"You didn't show up to the clubroom yesterday. We had to meet, remember?"

"Oh, right." Honoka put her hands together. "I'm sorry, I got distracted and forgot."

"Distracted?" Kotori asked. "By what?

"Well.. I wanted to get something from home, but when I got home there was a book waiting for me. And I started reading... so..."

"Honoka..." Umi looked very displeased.

"Eheh.. I'm sorry..."

"Honoka that's very irresponsible. Especially as the center. You can't just forget things like this. We've been doing these daily meetings and practices for months now."

Honoka was a little annoyed now, but she did her best not to show anything.

"Umi-chan, I'm sorry. I didn't do it on purpose. It was just an accident. I'll try hard not forget again."

"There, she said she was sorry, Umi-chan," Kotori said, sympathizing with Honoka. "She didn't mean anything by it, so go a little easier on her."

"Kotori-chan..." Umi sighed. "Alright. Just don't miss any more practices."

Honoka nodded. "I'll do my best."

"Well that's that." Kotori stood up. "Come on, let's go see if Hanayo-chan and Rin-chan are on the rooftop again. We can all have lunch together."

Kotori walked to Umi and they held hands. Honoka flinched slightly at the sight. They started walking to the door, then stopped and turned to Honoka again.

"Honoka-chan, aren't you coming?" Kotori asked.

"Uh.. sorry. I have to take care of something else actually. I'll just see you later."

"Oh.. alright. See you later."

Umi and Kotori left the classroom. Honoka sighed to herself. She waited a little, then grabbed her lunch and left the classroom as well. _Let's see if there's a quiet spot to eat at again today._

* * *

"Today was the worst."

Saying that to herself, Honoka got into the bathtub. Dance practice today was tiring for her, though not because of dancing. She had caught the others trying to kiss or getting distracted with their lovers often while they were practicing. It took Honoka a lot of effort to not react or anything during their practice. As she sat in the tub, though, she felt herself starting to relax.

"Jeeze, they could have at least waited until practice was over..."

Thinking again about practice earlier started to make Honoka feel a bit lonely. Just then, her phone started ringing. Luckily for her, she had this random urge to keep it near her while she was in the bath. She dried her hand and answered her phone.

"Hello?"

_"Hey there, Honoka,"_ came a much needed voice.

"Tsubasa!" she nearly yelled before calming herself down again. "Ah, hey. What's up?"

_"I read the manga you got me yesterday. So, how soon can I borrow the other books."_

"You can come today. I just got home from Muse practice, and I'm free the rest of the day."

_"Good, because I'm already on my way."_

"What do you mean by _already_?"

_"As in I'm already walking over right now."_

"W-what?" Honoka was a little panicked now. "How close are you?"

_"Just a few minutes away."_

_Oh crap,_ Honoka thought. She quickly got up. "A-alright. I'll get them ready."

_"No need, I want to stay over for a while, if you don't mind."_

"O-oh. That's fine with me, too!"

_"Great. See you in a bit."_

With that, the call was ended. Honoka looked at her phone for a moment longer before she put it down. _Today is a very busy day, _she thought to herself as she hurried to get ready.

* * *

"So this is your room," Tsubasa said as they stepped inside.

"Yeah.. It's nothing special like Anju's, but it's still nice," Honoka said, recalling her visit a few days ago.

"No, but it's still nice.. Oh wow."

Tsubasa spotted Honoka's book case, filled with many different manga and light novel series. Most were complete sets. Honoka saw the surprised look on Tsubasa's face, and smiled to herself.

"Only expecting a few books, huh?"

"Sort of.. So you weren't kidding before, huh?"

"Nope. Even though I don't have as much time anymore, I still like reading these."

Honoka walked to her bookcase and grabbed three books from the shelf. Then she walked over and placed them on her desk.

"They'll be here for you whenever you're ready to leave."

"Thanks. Are those the rest of the books?"

"Nope. There are twelve books in total for this series."

"Twelve? Why are you only lending me three more then?"

"I figure you'd need an excuse to come over more, right?"

"Ah-" She thought about it for a second. "Alright you got me."

Honoka smiled, then went back to the bookcase and grabbed one more book. She put it into Tsubasa's hands. Tsubasa looked at the book, confused. She looked over at the stack of books on the desk.

"Book four through six? Why were you lending me them out of order?"

"Because." Honoka grabbed Tsubasa and pulled. They fell onto Honoka's bed together. "You're reading the two books here, of course!"

"Oh? Is this payback for interrupting your bath?"

"W-what? How did you know I was taking a bath earlier?"

Tsubasa grinned. "I heard the water from the tub in the background over the phone."

"Hmph. Well this makes us even."

Honoka made a little pout which made Tsubasa giggle. Eventually, Tsubasa rolled over and opened the book so that they could both see. They started reading while laying on the bed.

As they finished the first book, Yukiho came by to tell them that dinner was ready, with extra prepared for Tsubasa. They took a break to eat and then returned to the room.

"I should come by to eat dinner more often," Tsubasa said with a satisfied smile.

"Sure. Though maybe next time you won't eat my portions as well."

"Eh? But you didn't say no."

Honoka sighed, knowing Tsubasa was right. She joined Tsubasa on the bed. "Fine. So how about we start the next book?"

"Sure! I can't wait to -"

Just then, Honoka's phone started ringing. She pulled it out and looked at the ID, and then sighed again. Tsubasa looked over. _Minami Kotori_, is what was on the screen. Once again, Honoka let the call drop without answering it.

"You know you're going to have to talk to them about it eventually," Tsubasa said.

"I know." Honoka put her phone onto her desk. "But after earlier, I think I'll need more time still."

"Earlier? What do you mean?"

"Nothing.. Just.. everyone was try to be intimate with each other, in the middle of practice."

Tsubasa looked surprised. "You mean... kissing and everything?"

"Yes. While we were dancing." Honoka shook her head. "I thought they would at least hold off, since it was practice."

"I see... I can understand how that feels to see."

"Is it the same with A-Rise?"

"It used to be. But after a few talks I got Anju to control herself more."

"Ah... must be nice."

"You see, though? Just try talking with the others. It's worth a shot."

Honoka sighed. "I guess you're right.."

"Alright, alright. That's enough of that." She checked her phone. "Ah, it's starting to get late."

"Aww.. Can you stay longer? You still want to read the next book right?"

"Well.. yeah. But.."

"Come on. I'll walk you home later if you'd like." She grabbed Tsubasa's hands. "Please?"

"Well..." Tsubasa looked away, but it didn't help. "Alright, I guess I can stay a bit longer."

"Yay!" Honoka tackled Tsubasa onto her bed in a hug. "Hehe, thanks."

"For what?"

"For visiting me today."

Tsubasa smiled and hugged back. "Any time."

They lay still together for a few minutes. Eventually, the thing on Tsubasa's mind finally got the better of her.

"So.. when can I start reading? I'm really curious what happens next."

* * *

"So, how do you like it so far?" Honoka asked as they walked through the quiet streets.

"It's really cute. I can't believe how oblivious the main characters are, though."

"Right? And there's plenty more awkward moments for them in store."

Tsubasa laughed at the thought. "So, will they find out about each other? Or not until the end?"

"Oh, I don't know.. Guess you'll have to read and find out!" Honoka teased.

"Aww, come on you can tell me. I don't mind knowing a little early."

Honoka shook her head. "No can do. You need to find out the same way everyone else does."

"Heh, fine." Tsubasa stopped them. "Here's my house."

Honoka looked over. "Oh?" She looked around to find signs to help her remember the area.

"Yeah.. Well, thanks again for the books. I'll let you know when I finish these."

"Great. Next time I'll come here then with a few more books."

"H-here? And spend some time here?"

"Well, yeah. I definitely want to see your reactions when you read the next few books after those."

"Alright.."

Honoka heard the hesitation in Tsubasa's voice. "Is that not okay?"

"No, no it's fine!" Tsubasa quickly answered. "I'd love to have you over some time."

Honoka smiled. "Great! One last thing, though."

"Hmm?"

Honoka turned and gave Tsubasa a tight hug. Tsubasa was surprised at first, but hugged Honoka back. They stood together for a minute before they let go. Honoka smiled and turned to start walking.

"See you next time!" she called back.

"See you!" Tsubasa called back. She watched as Honoka walked away. "Let's see if we can make tomorrow be that time," she said to herself before she turned to head into her house.

* * *

**Hey guys, nobodD here!**

**Nice, simple chapter. Aside from the first scene, I wanted another light-hearted chapter as things start to get going. Also, Honoka's family is pretty friendly, aren't they? Haha. And these two seem to like teasing each other. Or at least, in this story they do X3**

**So, any guess what's happening next? How things will go with Muse? Let me know your thoughts on the chapter, if you'd be so kind :3 I thank you all for your feedback so far and hope to hear more.**

**Alright, that's it from me. See you around~**


	5. Once Again

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

"Is this really happening again..." Honoka asked herself under her breath.

Sitting on the bench off to the side, Honoka looked as her friends and fellow Muse were once again into their little love moments. Rin and Hanayo seemed to have taken after Umi and Kotori, as both couples were sharing slow, tender kisses. Though, it was nothing like watching the other two couples. Honoka couldn't remember ever seeing Maki's face quite so red with embarrassment as Nico continued to explore her lover's body. Eri's complexion wasn't fairing much better as Nozomi continued to tease her.

"Well.. I guess it's after practice this time.."

Honoka sighed and pulled out her phone. Just as she unlocked it and was about to scroll, her phone started ringing. Her eyes widened in surprise as she read the contact name, before quickly getting up and leaving the rooftop. She answered the call as she made her way down the stairs.

"Hello?"

_"Hey, Honoka." _Tsubasa's voice came from the other end.

"Great timing. I was just about to call you."

_"Really? Well there's something I wanted-"_

"How would you feel about a date tomorrow?"

_"...Eh?"_

"I'm sorry. Are you free tomorrow?"

_"Well.. yes, I am. Actually-"_

"So how about it? Just the two of us. I'll let you pick the place or decide what to do."

_"Y-yeah, that sounds good."_

"Great. I'll come by UTX tomorrow afterschool to get you."

_"Alright.."_

"I'm looking forward to tomorrow."

_"I-I'm looking forward to tomorrow as well. See you then."_

"Mhm. Bye for now!"

Honoka hit the button to end the call as she reached the clubroom. She grabbed her bag and quickly made her way out of the school and hurried home.

_Meanwhile..._

Anju looked expectantly at Tsubasa as A-Rise's flustered leader put her phone away.

"Well?"

"Looks like she already had a date in mind," Tsubasa said, still in disbelief.

"Wonderful." Anju put her hands together and smiled.

"Looks like we'll cancel practice tomorrow after all. She wants to go after school."

"Heh, I knew it."

"A date.. huh.."

"Would you like advice for your date tomorrow as well?"

"You know, just because you were right about the call doesn't mean-"

Anju raised an eyebrow at Tsubasa.

"... Alright fine. Since when were you such a love expert?"

Anju giggled. "Oh, I'm not. But there's a special reason why I've been totally right about this so far."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"That's a secret."

* * *

The next day, Honoka left the classroom the first chance she got. She was pretty confident she avoided being seen by Kotori, and more importantly Umi. Getting caught was the one and only thing that could turn this day sour, so she took a route out of the school to minimize the chances of any of Muse seeing her.

She eased up her pace once she made it out of the school. She still walked a little faster than normal though, as she wanted to get to UTX as fast as possible. A bus trip and a few more minutes of walking later, and she finally reached the school. She arrived as a lot of students were leaving the school. It was around the time for club activities to start, so it didn't surprise her much.

She looked around for a few minutes until she managed to catch sight of Tsubasa. She was talking with Anju and Erena a little off to the side. She quickly made her way toward them.

"Ah, here she comes now," she could hear Anju say as she spotted Honoka coming.

"Sorry, I hope you weren't waiting long," Honoka said as she reached them.

"Oh no, we were talking to our teacher earlier. We only just got out here ourselves."

"Well actu-" Erina started.

Anju nudged Erina's side enough to stop her from finishing her sentence. She smiled to Erina who gave her a look.

"Come on, we should get going too." Anju took hold of Erina's hand and started leading her away. "Have fun you two!" she called back.

"That Anju.." Tsubasa said as they watched them walk away.

Honoka smiled. "No wonder you're all such close friends."

"Right... Anyway, let's get going?"

With Tsubasa leading a bit, the two of them started walking. After another bus ride, Honoka found them arriving in town again. Considering there was another store area near UTX, it surprised Honoka a bit that Tsubasa chose to be here again. Though, what surprised her a little more was where Tsubasa took them first.

"Somehow, I think I know where this is going," Honoka said as she looked up at the sign for the movie theater.

"I hope it's alright with you."

"Sure. I don't mind."

"Great." Tsubasa reached into her pocket and pulled out two tickets. "Because you weren't going to say no even if you wanted to."

Honoka noticed the movie title on the ticket and smiled. She grabbed onto Tsubasa's arm. "Fine by me."

"H-hey, what are you doing?"

"Well, this is a _date_ after all. You can't take me into the movies as just a friend."

Tsubasa sighed. "Alright. But I have one request for after."

"Anything you want."

"Can you spend some time at my house later?"

Honoka smiled. "I would've gone even if you didn't ask."

After their little exchange was out of the way, they entered the theater together. The movie they watched was a modern take on a classic fairy tale. It was one of Honoka's favorites as a kid, and she found herself liking this movie version as well. A few hours later, they reemerged from the theater, Honoka still holding onto Tsubasa's arm.

"That was a nice movie," Honoka said.

Tsubasa smiled. "I could tell, you were really into it."

"Well, I did like the original fairy tale a lot. It's romantic."

"Heh, I suppose so."

"So, what's next?"

Just as Tsubasa was about to answer, a low growl could be heard from Honoka's stomach. Tsubasa laughed while Honoka buried her face into Tsubasa's arm to hide her embarrassment.

"How about we head to my house early? I'll make us some dinner."

"Mhmph.." came Honoka's muffled response.

They didn't start walking right away, as Honoka wanted to let her embarrassment go away. Tsubasa looked down at Honoka in amusement. She also noticed that Honoka was wearing the necklace she got her before, which made Tsubasa smile.

Eventualy, Honoka felt that her face was free of any blush and that they could start walking again. So they made their way to Tsubasa's house, walking at a nice, leisurely pace. Honoka still didn't let go Tsubasa's arm. Once they got to the house and into Tsubasa's room, Honoka finally let go.

"Make yourself comfortable, I'll make dinner." She turned to leave, but stopped. "And no, you can't help. This is my thanks for the other night."

"...Alright..." Honoka pouted, but nodded her understanding.

Satisfied, Tsubasa left. Now alone, Honoka started looking around the room. For the most part, it was as normal as any other bedroom. Except for the bed, which had an unusually large amount of stuffed animals on it. _I didn't know she was that kind of girl, _Honoka thought. _It's really cute of her._

Honoka wanted to walk around and explore the rest of the house, but she wasn't sure how much longer Tsubasa would be. So, she decided to just wait patiently in Tsubasa's room until she returned. Something easier said than done for Honoka.

As a last resort, she pulled out her phone, seeing something she was kind of expecting. Several missed calls from Umi, and even some from Eli. Her phone had been on silent, even before the movie, knowing that skipping practice would have its drawbacks. Though, the amount of calls were still somewhat impressive to Honoka.

"I'm going to get an earful the next time I see Umi-chan..."

"Because you skipped practice again?"

"Tsubasa?"

Honoka turned to see Tsubasa standing at the door, a tray in her hands.

"Sorry it took a little while."

"No, it's fine. I thought we would be eating with your family."

"My parents are going to be home late. So, we have the house to ourselves for a while."

"Ah, okay. The food smells good, by the way."

Tsubasa smiled. "Thanks. But that won't get you out of this talk."

"I know.. but it's still true." Honoka sighed. "I didn't have a chance to talk to them yet, and yesterday was as bad as the last time."

Tsubasa set the tray down on her desk and sat down on the bed next to Honoka.

"It's okay. I don't blame you since it happened again so suddenly."

"Thanks.. but I know I need to talk to them soon."

"Well, as long as you know that, then there's not much else to say." She placed her hand on Honoka's shoulder. "You'll be fine though. I know it."

"Thanks.. Anyway, have you finished the books yet?"

"Yeah, I did. I didn't get a chance to tell you though."

"That's alright. How about we eat your delicious food? I brought the next book, so we can read after we're done."

"You did?"

Honoka smiled. "I had a feeling you'd be finished with those already."

Tsubasa smiled as well. "Sounds good. Maybe I'll give you one of my stuffed animals that you've been eyeing as a thanks."

"...Eheh. I'll take the bear if you don't mind."

"Sounds good."

With that done, they had another relaxing night eating dinner together and reading manga. Honoka only brought one book with her, so it didn't last as long. But Honoka got a teddy bear out of it, and they both got another date with each other for tomorrow. So, neither of them are complaining about tonight. Especially Tsubasa, who got quite the gift before Honoka left the house. She would've been happy with just a hug from Honoka, but she definitely wasn't complaining about the little extra she got.

* * *

**Hey guys, nobodD here!**

**I wonder if you were expecting a first date chapter already. X3 Of course, the date comes at a price. Is upsetting someone like Umi or Eli worth it? We'll have to find out.**

**Please keep up the reviews and let me know your thoughts and everything. Some of you have interesting ideas as well, and I'm going to try and include them in future chapters. **

**That's all from me for now, until next time~**


	6. Adaptation

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

Honoka and Tsubasa had agreed to meet close to noon. As the time was getting close to when she should leave, Honoka gazed at herself in the mirror one last time. She played with the bow in her hair and fiddled with her blouse. She didn't need to, and would much rather be on her way out right now, but a certain little someone was stopping her from that.

"So, where are you going all dressed up like that?" Yukihio asked from the bed.

"I said already, I'm just going to hang out at Akihabara with a friend today."

"Oh? Did you finally ask out someone from Muse?"

Honoka rolled her eyes, though Yukiho couldn't see it from where she was sitting.

"No. And it's not even someone from Muse. They're probably all busy today anyway."

"Not from Muse? Who are you meeting then?"

Honoka sighed, trying her best not to lose her patience.

"You know, it's not nice to pry into other's business."

Yukiho pouted. "I'm just curious. You never get yourself ready like this. I thought maybe you're finally dating."

_If only that were the case, _Honoka thought to herself. "There's no one like that. But don't worry. If someone's silly enough to date me, you'll be the first to know."

"Alright... Sorry, Onee-chan."

Hearing that, she turned and walked to Yukiho, placing a hand on her head and smiling. "Don't worry about it. Here." She picked up the bear Tsubasa gave her yesterday. "Give that a cuddle, it'll make you feel better. Just put her back when you're done, okay?"

With that, Honoka grabbed a bag and left the room. Yukiho waited until she heard Honoka say goodbye to their parents and leave the house.

"Sorry, Onee-chan..."

With a sigh, Yukiho put the bear down and pulled out her phone.

* * *

Tsubasa checked her wristwatch as she walked. She wasn't worried about being late, as she gave herself plenty of time to work with. She reached the station with a few minutes before their meeting time, yet she saw something she wasn't expecting.

"Looks like I kept you waiting this time," she said as she reached Honoka.

"You bet you did. I was about to think that you'd stood me up." Then Honoka smiled. "Heh, just kidding. I only got here myself."

Tsubasa laughed, then noticed the bag Honoka was carrying. "Ah, you brought the next books?"

"Yup!" Honoka held up the bag. "The rest of the series."

"Great. Well, let's get going before we miss our train."

Together, they hurried in and boarded the next train to Akihabara. During the ride, Honoka pulled out the book to let Tsubasa read to pass the time. Meanwhile, Honoka just decided to take it easy during the ride, and rested her head on Tsubasa's shoulder. She didn't let herself fall asleep, so she could hear the stations as they reached them. She didn't want Tsubasa to be interrupted while reading.

Eventually they reached Akihabara. They left the station and started heading toward one of the cafes. They both agreed that before they did anything else for this date, they should eat lunch first. They spent a little more time than they thought, because even Tsubasa ate more food than normal.

"That was very good.." Honoka said as she sat back, satisfied.

"I'll say," Tsubasa agreed. "Hey, do you think they'd let us take orders to go?"

"It couldn't hurt to ask. I'd love to...oh no."

Tsubasa looked up at Honoka. "Huh?"

Honoka got out of her seat and grabbed hold of Tsubasa's hand. "Quickly." She said, and pulled Tsubasa up and led her toward the bathrooms. When they got around the wall, she stopped.

"Honoka, what's going on?"

"Shh." Honoka peered around the corner. She whispered, "I can't believe this..."

Tsubasa looked around as well, following Honoka's gaze. Then she spotted what Honoka was hiding for. There were two familiar faces at the entrance of the cafe. And they appeared to be searching for something. _Or someone, _Tsubasa corrected herself. They retreated their heads back around the corner.

"Sonoda-san and Ayase-san... what are they doing here?"

"This can't be a coincidence..."

"But then, how would they know you came to Akihabara of all places?"

"I don't know..." Then she realized it. "Wait, Yukiho, she must have told Arisa."

"Ayase's little sister?"

Honoka nodded. "I had my suspicions about their relationship. Eli must have gotten Arisa to ask Yukiho about my plans today."

"Y-you think Ayase-san would do something like that?"

"I wish I could say no." Honoka groaned. "No wonder Yukiho was so nosy this morning."

"Well.. what are we going to do? We can't just walk out while they're at the entrance."

"Hold on.." Honoka reached into her bag and pulled out her wallet.

Tsubasa looked curiously. "What are you going to do with that?"

"Well.. We still need to pay for our food."

"Y-you're thinking about that at a time like this?"

"Do you want to get into actual trouble?" Honoka handed her some money. "Just, leave this on the table. I never told Yukiho that it was you I was meeting, so they shouldn't get suspicious."

Tsubasa sighed. As calmly as she could, she walked back to their table and left the money with the bill. She grabbed her bag and went to rejoin Honoka. As soon as she did, Honoka took hold of her hand and led her further to the back of the cafe. Almost conveniently, there was an isolated corner that no one could see them, and an exit door. They left through the back and down an alley until they reemerged at the streets.

"I really hope it's just them.." Honoka said.

"Um.. you're about to be disapopinted.."

Tsubasa pointed across the street. They noticed just in time to see Kotori and Hanayo emerge from one of the stores. Honoka could just make out Kotori holding up her phone. _Umi is probably calling about the cafe, _Honoka thought dully. Hanayo was scanning the streets, and just as they would have looked to them, Honoka and Tsubasa ducked back into the alley.

"I really can't believe this..." Honoka said with a sigh.

"Well, I guess it keeps things interesting," Tsubasa said, trying to bring up Honoka's mood a bit.

Honoka buried her face in her hands. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Hey, you don't need to apologize.."

"But it's my fault our date is being ruined right now."

Tsubasa grabbed hold of Honoka's wrists and pressed her against the wall. Honoka stared at Tsubasa in surprise. Tsubasa herself was a little surprised to see a tear in Honoka's eye. _She feels really bad..._

"Look. Just because a few unexpected things are happening doesn't mean that anything is ruined, alright? And sure, may be looking for you, but it's not your fault that they're acting like this. I don't mind these things are happening. So, please don't blame yourself." She wiped away the single tear from Honoka's face. "We'll be fine, so stop worrying. Alright?"

"Tsubasa..." Slowly, she felt herself calming down. She smiled. "Thanks."

Tsubasa felt relieved to see Honoka smile again. "Y-yeah, no problem."

"Come on," Honoka said as she grabbed Tsubasa's hand again.

"W-what now?"

"Well, unless you want to spend the rest of today in this alley, we have a date to finish. And moping about it is out of the question now."

She started at Honoka in amazement. "You cheer up fairly quickly."

"Eheh... actually I don' usually... Anyway, come on."

Together, they left the alley and returned to the streets. They quickly walked through the crowds of people, holding hands to keep from being separated. Or at least, that's what they told each other. Tsubasa kept looking around, scanning for the other Muse members. They made a quick stop to hide from sight of Rin and Maki. Eventually, Honoka pulled them into a store. Tsubasa looked around as they entered.

"Interesting stop... a clothing store?"

Honoka nodded. "I thought that a disguise my help us out with this."

"Oh, that might work. Alright, let's start looking."

They started walking in and out of sections, pulling one thing out here and there. Once they were done, Honoka went into one of the changing rooms. Tsubasa waited outside, and she realized something as she looked at her hand.

_She didn't let go the entire time..._

"Hey, you're pretty cute and all, but it'll look weird to others if you keep smiling at your hand like that."

"H-Honoka? Ah you're done already?"

"Yup. So, not easy to recognize anymore?"

"Well... Maybe not far away... but.."

"But.. what?"

"You're hair... it's easy to tell that it's you because of it."

"Really?"

"Here, I'll help with that. Take out that hair piece."

Honoka did as she was told. She took out the accessory and handed it to Tsubasa. Tsubasa hesitated a second, watching as Honoka's hair fell freely down. After that little treat, Tsubasa stepped behind Honoka and started fixing her hair. She went to put the hair piece in, then stopped. At first sight, she had thought it was just another ribbon Honoka liked to wear. Looking at it now, it was a pair of wings.

"Uh.. everything okay?" Honoka asked.

"Y-yeah.. just one moment."

She finished adjusting Honoka's hair and fixed the hair piece. Then stepped back around to look at Honoka from the front.

"Well..?"

"Beautiful...u-uh I mean.. Y-yeah you shouldn't be easy to recognize now..."

Honoka smiled to herself. _Well, the hair piece is a winner. Good to see this as well._

"S-so, shall we continue our date?"

"Sure. But first."

Honoka went up to Tsubasa and placed something on her head. She looked in a nearby mirror.

"A hat?"

"Yup." Honoka held up two pairs of sunglasses, one to Tsubasa. "Might as well disguise you in something cute too, right?"

Tsubasa took the sunglasses and put them on. "Whatever you say."

"Um.. excuse me."

Both turned around to see one of the employees.

"Sorry, but if you two are keeping those, you'll need to pay."

After their embarrassment, the two of them managed to pay for the clothes without much hassle. With that taken care of, they made their way out onto the streets again. They decided that they'd go to the arcade next, as neither have gone to one in Akihabara before.

Even though they were somewhat disguised, they still were cautious as they walked the streets, and kept looking out for the other Muse members. Luckily, they didn't see the others, and safely made it to the arcade.

At this point, they were there for about an hour. Tsubasa learned that Honoka was pretty good at these arcade games. Her proof was that she didn't beat Honoka in any of the games that they could both play, as well as the two big stuffed animals she was carrying and a few small prizes in her pockets. Most of which, Honoka was giving to her.

"Can't you at least take one of the two big animals?" Tsubasa asked as they stepped out of the arcade. "I don't think I'll have space in my room."

"No no. I'm giving them to you, so you're keeping them. That was our deal, remember?"

Tsubasa sighed. "I never should have bet on that air-hockey game."

Honoka giggled, then took some of the stuff from Tsubasa. "I'll help you carry them home, though."

"Thanks. So, what next?"

"Well-"

"Be serious, Nozomi. We can't waste time at the arcade."

"I am being serious, Nico-chi. What if she went in here?"

Honoka and Tsubasa looked to the source of the voices, hoping they were hearing wrong. But they weren't, as they caught Nozomi and Nico as they walked into the arcade. They stood in horrified silence for a moment.

"How about we head home?" Honoka asked.

"Yeah..."

As quickly as they could without drawing attention, they started walking. Honoka held onto Tsubasa and led her through the streets, as Tsubasa was still carrying most of the prizes. She also did her best to keep an eye out for the other Muse.

Somehow, they managed to make it back to the station with no trouble. Even more lucky, they got there just in time to catch the next train home.

"Well, what a day," Tsubasa said on the train.

"Yeah..." Honoka replied, a little distantly.

"Hey.. you okay?"

"Well... I was just wondering something..."

"Hmm?"

"Can I... can I stay the night at your house?"

"...what? D-did you just ask..."

"W-well, you know.. because Yukiho probably tipped the others off.. and if I go home now, I don't know what I'll wake up to tomorrow... So... can I?"

"Y-yeah.. that's fine.. I don't think my parents will mind.."

Honoka smiled, and Tsubasa noticed the relief on her face. And just like the train ride before, Honoka rested her head on Tsubasa's shoulder. They enjoyed some peaceful silence as they rode home.

Tsubasa easily got her parents' approval once they got home, and Honoka called her mom to tell her she was staying at a friend's house, which she was fine with as well. Happily, the two girls hid away in Tsubasa's room the rest of the night. Honoka, not wanting to sleep in either of the clothes she wore for the afternoon, borrowed some of Tsubasa's to sleep in. They stayed up late so Tsubasa could read more. Honoka started to get tired, so Tsubasa stopped a little early, leaving the last two books for the morning.

With the addition of the stuffed animals Honoka won today, Tsubasa's bed didn't really have a lot of space to actually sleep. However, they found a way that they could both comfortably sleep. Just as long as Tsubasa's parents don't randomly walk in. There would definitely be a lot of misunderstandings if they were caught sleeping the way they're sleeping together. Not that either of them would mind, either.

* * *

**Hey guys, nobodD here!**

**Ohmygawsh a quick update? What's going on here?! Hehe, just kidding X3**

**This entire chapter was a lot more organized in my head when I first read some of your reviews. I don't know if it translated quite well though... eheh. Anyway, let me know what you guys thought, please :3**

**I apologize in advance... I don't think the next chapter will quite be this quickly updated. But I'll do my best! Those of you that PM'd me with oneshot requests, I haven't forgotten about them, either!**

**I hope you'll stick around for more~**


	7. Confrontation

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

Honoka woke up feeling better than she has in a while in the morning. She rubbed her eyes until she could see clearly and looked around. She was a little puzzled.

_This isn't my room..._

She heard a voice behind her, and was aware of arms holding her from behind.

_Oh right. I slept over at Tsubasa's house._

The quick instance of worry instantly faded as she started to remember yesterday's events. While a lot of stuff happened, it still was a successful date in the end. And it ended in a very unexpected, yet pleasant, way. Thinking about her luck with Muse, she didn't expect things to end up as smoothly as they did.

_All thanks to this girl._

Honoka put her hands over Tsubasa's, which were wrapped around her stomach. She appreciated the warmth and comfort she felt from Tsubasa right now. It felt a lot different than all the hugs and everything that they've done up until this point. Though, Honoka wasn't quite sure why. Then she thought about yesterday in the alley.

_It's probably because of that... because she said those things..._

For a moment, she played with the idea of something more happening at that time. Their faces were really close in that moment. A little closer, and they may not still be laying here only as friends.

_Would I really be okay with that, though?_

She'd be the first to admit she acts very openly with Tsubasa. She never warmed up to anyone like that before. Yet, she felt very comfortable with Tsubasa, despite only having really got to know her this past week. She never once hesitated in her actions, and she definitely had no regrets about them. It all felt natural to her. But now, laying here thinking about Tsubasa as someone more than just a new friend, Honoka's mind became full of a lot of questions.

_Could I really take a step like that? Would she be okay with it? What does she even think of me?_

Honoka sighed quietly. As she did, she felt Tsubasa tighten her hold on Honoka.

"Tsubasa?"

"Someone like you shouldn't be feeling down so early in the morning," Tsubasa said.

She loosened her hold on Honoka so Honoka could turn to face her.

"Good morning," Honoka said.

"Good morning. So, mind telling me what's bugging you?"

"Nothing really. I was just thinking about things."

"Like?"

"Lots of things. But I'm done now, so you don't have to worry."

"If you say so.."

"You know, you shouldn't worry so much that it gets you down in the morning, either."

"Alright, alright. Fair enough."

Honoka smiled. "Thanks for worrying about me, though."

"Don't mention it," Tsubasa said, blushing slightly.

"Let's have breakfast? I should probably go home after."

As much as Tsubasa didn't want to, she agreed. So they made their way downstairs, finding that Tsubasa's mom had breakfast ready for them already. They both ate breakfast somewhat slowly, stalling for a bit of time. Eventually they went back to Tsubasa's room. Honoka changed out of the clothes she borrowed and back into her original outfit from yesterday, while Tsubasa changed into something different than yesterday.

After a bit of talking to take up more time, they left Tsubasa's house. They walked slowly toward Honoka's house, talking about where Tsubasa was at in the manga. A little sooner than they'd like, they turned the corner that led to Honoka's house.

"Thanks for walking me home again," Honoka said as they made their way down the street.

"My pleasure. You sure you're going to be okay?"

As they started getting closer, they saw Honoka's mom standing outside of the store. She waved to them, and they waved back. Then she disappeared into the store.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Maybe I should stay over after all?"

Honoka shook her head. "I've troubled you enough for now. I'll just get you some sweets to take home."

Tsubasa sighed. "Alright.."

They got closer to the store, but then something happened that made them freeze in place. Eli emerged from the store. She turned to them, one hand on her hip, and a serious, almost angry look on her face. And to add to their surprise, they found that Eli was not alone. The rest of Muse made their way out of the store.

Tsubasa almost didn't want to believe what was happening. She turned to Honoka, who took a step back. She could see the horror on Honoka's face, and it gave her a very uncomfortable feeling. But it also stirred up something else inside her.

"Honoka, we need to talk," Eli stated, keeping her voice leveled for now.

Eli took a step forward, and Honoka took another step back.

"W-what are you all doing here?" Honoka barely managed, shaking a little from fear.

"Well, we came yesterday because we needed to talk to you," Maki informed.

"But you never came home," Kotori pointed out.

"Luckily, your sister asked that we stay over the night so we could wait for you," Nozomi finished.

_...Are they serious? They really would've ambushed her last night if they got the chance..._ Tsubasa was really not liking this situation right now.

"How could you miss practice again? After I talked to you about it the other day?" Umi asked in a bit of an annoyed tone.

"You might be the center, but that doesn't give you the right to act so selfishly," Eli let a bit of annoyance show in her voice as well.

_Alright, I've had enough of this._ Tsubasa stepped in front of Honoka. "You know, you all really don't have the right to tell her she's being selfish right now."

The other Muse were a bit surprised at Tsubasa. Eli was the first to recover.

"Kira, this has nothing to do with you. Please just let us handle things."

"No," Tsubasa replied firmly. "In fact, it's really you all that's the problem right now."

"Really, please don't say things when you don't understand the situation."

Tsubasa crossed her arms. "Please, I know everything I need to know. It's you that doesn't understand."

Eli was visibly starting to lose a little patience. Nozomi stepped to her side to calm her down.

"Really? So why don't you tell us everything you know then?" Umi challenged.

"Fine. I know that you're all in relationships with each other. And I know that you're all happy with it. In fact, you all are so happy that you let it leak into you practices. And you all are so into each other, you've failed to notice that you left one person out. The very person who sacrificed her own happiness for you all, and you let her silently suffer in that loneliness."

The world seemed to stand still after that. Everyone, even Honoka, was surprised by Tsubasa. Honoka had been surprised that Tsubasa had even stepped forward to defend her. The rest of Muse were shocked by what Tsubasa had said. They were particularly stunned by the last sentence.

"What do you mean?" Kotori asked a little hesitantly.

"You all really are wrapped up in each other. Too much to notice how uncomfortable Honoka's been. Too much to notice how lonely she's felt. I bet none of you could even tell something was wrong with her, right?"

"Is... is all that true, Honoka?" Umi almost didn't want to hear the answer.

"Well.. Do you know where I was or what I was doing on Monday?" Honoka asked.

The other Muse looked at each other, hoping someone would be able to answer. But no answer came from any of them.

"She was alone at the park, crying," Tsubasa answered. "She would've let herself sit there soaking wet if I didn't happen to pass by. And who knows what else she would've done."

_T-Tsubasa... that's pushing it a little._ Honoka thought. Though she could see why she was exaggerating a bit.

"Then.." came Maki. "Why did you skip practice?"

"Would you want to be stuck in one place for an hour watching all you friends act all lovey-dovey with each other? In the middle of practice?" Honoka asked.

Another long period of silence while Muse reflected over their leader's words. Tsubasa noticed that guild was starting to be evident on a few of their faces.

"I... I'm sorry we didn't notice earlier, Honoka-chan..." Kotori said.

"Sorry isn't good enough this time," Honoka said. "Not after what I've been through. Now if you'll excuse me."

Finally Honoka stepped out from behind Tsubasa and started walking. She ignored the other Muse as she walked by them and into her family's store. Tsubasa followed Honoka, but stopped at the door, looking back at the stunned Muse. She felt a little mix of pride in Honoka, but sympathy for the other Muse. _As far as reality checks go, that was a little harsh._

"If I were you all, I'd get together and figure out a way to properly apologize. She can't stay mad forever, and you at least owe that much to her."

"What's your role in all this?" Nozomi asked.

"Role?"

"Yes. Why did you help Honoka, and why are you trying to help us now? Why did you get involved? "

"As the leader of A-Rise, and a fellow idol, it would be sad to see Muse go over something like this. As for me, I found a girl crying by herself in the rain and I helped her, like any person would. But more importantly than anything else, I listened to her problems, and I was there for her."

Deciding that should be enough, Tsubasa entered the store, leaving the rest of Muse outside.

_I hope that's enough advice to help them._

* * *

Tsubasa found Honoka in her room, cuddling the teddy bear she gave her. They were only alone for a few minutes before there was a knock on the door. It turned out to be Yukiho this time.

"O-Onee-chan..."

Honoka just looked up and waited for Yukhio to continue.

"I'm sorry... about telling the others about yesterday. Eli-senpai had Arisa convince me to do it. I know it was wrong..."

Honoka sighed. "It's alright, Yukiho-chan. I should be the one apologizing."

"E-eh?" Both Tsubasa and Yukiho were surprised by that.

"When I saw them trying to find us yesterday, I just assumed that you did it behind my back. But if you had no choice, then I can't blame you. I should've trusted you more, and not jump to conclusions."

"Onee-chan..."

Honoka got up from the bed, putting the teddy bear down, and went to hug her sister. Yukiho started to cry a little, happy that Honoka was understanding but still upset at what she had done. Tsubasa smiled as she watched the sisters.

Yukiho calmed back down after a few minutes. She formally introduced herself to Tsubasa, mentioning how she used to be a big fan of A-Rise before Honoka got Muse together. After that she left the room.

The mood had been light for a bit while Yukiho was there. But as she left, the tension leftover from the earlier meeting with the other Muse returned, and the two sat in silence for a bit of time.

"Tsubasa."

"Yes?"

'Thanks for sticking up for me earlier."

"It's not a problem. Besides, you didn't seem to need it in the end."

Honoka shook her head. "I panicked when I saw them. I wasn't sure what to do. If you weren't with me, they would've completely placed the blame on me."

"Well... I'm sure anyone else in my position would've done the same..."

There was another few moments of silence.

"Hey... what part of the manga did you get to again?"

"Hmm.. I believe they had just escaped the castle. Why?"

"Can I spoil what happens next?"

"Huh? What do you-"

Honoka scooted closer to Tsubasa.

"H-hey, w-what ar-"

Tsubasa was quickly silenced as a pair of lips met her own. Her eyes widened in surprise, almost unable to believe what was happening.

_S-she's kissing me?!_

* * *

**Hey guys, nobodD here!**

**I actually wasn't expecting this chapter to be done so soon. The conversations were a bit tricky, and I thought it'd take me longer to get the right feeling to them. I really hope the right things are clear about how this chapter was supposed to go.**

**Please review your thoughts and what you think will happen next! And I promise to work hard to get the next chapter ready soon. So... yeah, sorry about the cliffhanger! *hides***

**Bye for now~**


	8. Reflection

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

"...But more importantly than anything else, I listened to her problems, and I was there for her."

Leaving that thought in the air, Tsubasa followed Honoka into the store. The other Muse remained where they were standing. There was only silence for a few moments, only interrupted by the sound of soft sobbing.

"Kotori-chan..." Umi went up to Kotori and hugged her tightly.

"We're her best friends. How... how did we not notice?" Kotori asked.

"Well, it's like they said," Nozomi pointed out. "We let our feelings for each other distract us, and didn't notice she felt alone."

"Yeah.. don't beat yourself up over it," Maki said. "We're all guilty for it."

"If anything, we should've been the first people to notice something wrong with Honoka," Nico added.

"I hope Honoka will forgive us," Rin said. "I don't want anything bad to happen to Muse."

"None of us want anything bad to happen. But we have to do something about it," Eli said. "We have to apologize to Honoka, and show her that something like this won't happen again."

"What should we do though?" Hanayo asked.

"I think the best thing to do right now is for us to go home," Nozomi suggested. "We should all take some time alone to think things over."

Eli nodded. "Agreed. Let's meet up tomorrow after class and discuss any ideas."

The other Muse agreed as well, and the eight of them walked off in different directions. They still left in pairs, just to walk each other home.

* * *

_S-she's kissing me?!_

Tsubasa couldn't do anything else but scream the question in her mind in the moment. As much as she wanted this, she couldn't have imaged this happening in anything but her wildest dreams. But she was far from complaining.

It took a moment for Tsubasa to recover from the shock and return Honoka's kiss in full. Which was good for her, because Honoka let the kiss only last for a few moments. Honoka didn't want to either, but she didn't want to push her luck.

"D-don't misunderstand, this is just my thanks for everything," Honoka stuttered.

"Huh?" Tsubasa looked at her confused.

"It'll make more sense once you read the last two books.. Just know that this was just my thanks for everything you've done for me."

"A-alright.."

_Though, I'd rather it be something more,_ both of them thought.

"W-well... you're home now... Should I get going?" Tsubasa asked after a moment of silence.

"I.. uh.. d-do you want to go already?"

"I mean... I could stay a while longer... if that's okay... "

"If you want.. I don't mind..."

"I-I guess I can stay a while longer.."

Though, for the next couple of minutes, the two sat there in awkward silence. Neither really knew what to do or say. After that kiss, certain thoughts lingered in their minds. Yet, without being completely sure of what the other felt, they didn't want to risk acting on any of their desires.

Finally, Tsubasa focused on the one thought in her mind that didn't directly involve making Honoka hers. Though, she was still a bit of afraid to ask the question on her mind, as it would still be very telling of their future together.

"So... what do you plan to do now? With Muse, I mean."

_Ah... she asked.._ Honoka really hoped Tsubasa wouldn't bring that up so soon.

"I don't know... It's going to be hard talk to them for a while..."

"Maybe you should keep your distance for a while? Give them some time."

Honoka sighed. "You're probably right. What about practice though..."

"Well... if you don't feel like risking going to practice, we could go out somewhere again."

"Sure.. I'd like that. But, what about tomorrow?"

"Oh... I can't. I promised Anju and Erina that we'd practice tomorrow to make up for missing last week."

Honoka's shoulders dropped slightly. "Oh... that's okay. Maybe Tuesday, then."

_But now... I really don't want to go..._ Tsubasa thought. Seeing Honoka even a little sad wasn't sitting well with Tsubasa right now.

* * *

At the last second, Honoka was a bit hesitant about going to school the next day. But after what she was almost confronted for yesterday, she didn't want to risk that being held over her as well. So she decided to do what Tsubasa suggested, and just ignore the other Muse for the day. Easier said than done, though.

As the lunch break started, she was quickly approached by her childhood friends.

"Umm.. Honoka-chan?" Kotori asked hesitantly.

Honoka didn't answer, but she looked at Kotori expectantly.

"W-we were thinking.. maybe we could have lunch together again? Just the three of us, like old times."

"Sorry... Maybe not today. I have other plans for lunch."

"With Kira?" Umi asked.

"N-no. She doesn't even go here. What makes you think it's with her?" Honoka stuttered.

"Uhh.. No reason..."

Honoka felt her face starting to heat up slightly at the thought of Tsubasa. She needed to get out of the classroom quickly.

"I-I'll see you later." Honoka quickly got up with her bread and tried to leave.

"Wait." Umi grabbed Honoka free hand. "Are.. are you doing anything later?"

"No.. But I want to be alone tonight, if that's fine."

"But-"

Honoka yanked her arm free from Umi before she could continue and bolted out of the classroom. Kotori looked to Umi, a little confused. Then, seeing that Umi was smiling, she was also surprised.

"What was that all about?" she asked.

"I think I have an idea," Umi responded.

"What?"

Umi whispered into Kotori's ear. When she finished, Kotori smiled a bit as well.

"You think that'll work?" she asked Umi.

"Well... we have to try."

"Umi-chan, you're amazing."

Kotori gave Umi a congratulatory kiss, much to Umi's embarrassment. Luckily for them, the classroom had emptied out for the lunch break, and they were the only two there.

* * *

Honoka went to her usual isolated spot for lunch. She sat down quickly, trying to catch her breath. She never had to run here before. There was never a reason to. But she couldn't let herself be all flustered in front of Umi or Kotori. Not after yesterday.

_What am I even doing..._

Honoka sighed, not really knowing the answer to that. Her actions have been more and more impulsive recently. Even she wished she could understand what she's been doing recently.

She took a bite out of her bread, then sighed again. She thought back to Tsubasa's cooking that she got to eat the night of their date. She really enjoyed it, and would much rather be eating her food rather than this bread.

_Tsubasa..._

Suddenly, her chest felt funny. She began to understand a little why she's been acting weird recently. When she thought about it, she'd spent a period of time after she had gotten her friends together, sad. Especially last week, she almost reached a dangerous point. What Tsubasa said was somewhat true, who knows what she would've done. It's not like sitting there in the rain would've done anything life-threatening, but that also could've been the beginning.

Yet, that day was when she noticed that she started acting differently. Why? Because Tsubasa was there. She had reached out to her, and protected her from a potentially terrible series of choices. Though maybe she didn't even know it. But Honoka felt happy. Happy that someone saved her, cared for her, listened to her. Some instinct in Honoka had probably reacted to that happiness. And wanting to return back to her cheerful self, she must've been clinging to Tsubasa to try and keep that happiness. But maybe, maybe it wasn't that simple anymore.

_No.. I know it's not just that anymore._

Maybe it started as Honoka wanting to be happy. But over time, it developed into something more. Something she briefly felt for Umi and Kotori, before finding out about their feelings for each other. Something she didn't get to feel for the others because she had put them together. Though, she wasn't sure of it herself until now. Now, she could confidently say it.

_I'm in love with Tsubasa._

* * *

Meanwhile, at the start of the lunch break at UTX, the A-Rise trio were having lunch together as usual. They were in their clubroom, to avoid the usual attention from fans that are at their school. They had barely started on their lunches when Anju eagerly asked her questions.

"So, how did the date go?"

"They were good. A little unexpected, but enjoyable."

"You were with her all weekend weren't you?"

"Yeah.. The whole weekend was pretty unexpected, really."

"Are you two a couple yet?"

Tsubasa nearly spit out her food. "W-what?"

"Come on, you can't tell me neither of you confessed."

"A-Anju.."

"Tsubasa." Anju spoke in a more serious tone. "What do you think about Honoka?"

"..what?"

"You've been spending a lot of time with her the last week. You like her, don't you?"

"Well... you kno-"

"Tsubasa."

Tsubasa sighed. She knew when Anju was actually serious, she could be quite forceful.

"Yes.. I do like her." Tsubasa shook her head. "No, I love her. But with all the things that happened, I didn't get the time to say anything."

"And?" Anju could tell that wasn't the only thing stopping Tsubasa.

"...And, I'm really scared. This is the first time I've actually fallen in love. What if she doesn't feel the same way? What if I confess and she isn't interested?"

Anju sighed this time. "Honestly, do you think after all that time together last week, there wouldn't be something in her?"

Tsubasa shrugged. "I don't know... maybe?"

"Look. Really, the only choice you have is to just confess and find out. But you can't just keep stalling. You don't know how she is at her school. What if someone gets her first?"

"I guess you're right..."

Anju took hold of Tsubasa's shoulders. "Everything will work out, trust me. I've got a good feeling about this. You can't pass this chance up."

"A-alright."

"Promise me then. That soon you'll go to Honoka yourself and tell her how you really feel about her."

"Alright, alright. I promise."

Anju nodded, satisfied. As she turned to feed part of her bento to Erina, she heard Tsubasa sneeze. She smiled.

"What if Honoka's thinking about you right now?"

Tsubasa's face turned red. "S-shush."

* * *

**Hey guys, nobodD here!**

**I've been really focused on this story recently. You've all been inspiring/encouraging, so I want to get updates out quickly while still keeping the chapters interesting. So as always, please review and let me know what you thought of the chapter, as well as your predictions for what's coming next.**

**For those that are unaware about the last two lines, there's a superstition that you sneeze when someone's thinking about you. The scenes happen at the same time, so... ;)**

**Way OT, but any SIF players here? I just got the event card. Pretty happy about that X3 Took quite a lot of play time, but SIF is so worth it.**

**Hope to see you back for more~**


	9. End & Beginning

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

Once lessons were over for the day, Kotori and Umi hurried to the clubroom. Although they didn't have an official meeting for Muse today, the eight of them agreed that it would be best to meet as quickly as possible. They wanted to fix things with Honoka before they have practice the following day. Otherwise they risk an unbearable two hours if Honoka didn't skip.

The others were a little nervous when Kotori and Umi entered the clubroom. None of them got any ideas for fixing the situation. But that nervousness was washed away as Umi told the others of her idea. Their time alone yesterday gave them time to reflect on their actions. And now Umi was bringing an idea that was their best shot at making amends.

"Are you sure about this, though?" Eli asked.

Umi nodded. "Her reactions were very telling. I have almost no doubt."

"I hope you're right.." Maki said uneasily. "As great as this plan could be, if you're guess is wrong, we risk making things ten times worse."

"You're right, it's a huge risk," Nozomi pointed out. "But, it's really our only option at this point. We have no other ideas. But.."

"Hm?" Umi looked over curiously.

Nozomi met her gaze. "I trust Umi-chan on this. She would know Honoka-chan the best along with Kotori-chan. And they both think this will work."

Kotori smiled, easing a bit of her own nervousness. "Thanks, Nozomi-chan."

"Should we go now, then?" Nico asked. "After all, we don't even know if _they_ are available right now."

"Well, we aren't doing much ourselves anyway," Eli answered. "Even if they aren't free right when we get there, we have time."

"We should all go together then, huh?" Rin asked. "It would be better that way."

"Exactly. Come on, let's get going."

"Hanayo-chan, are you alright?" Nozomi asked.

The others had started getting up and moving, but stopped when they heard Nozomi's question. They all turned to look at Hanayo, who was looking to Umi and Kotori.

"Will she really be happy with this?" she asked.

_Happy..._

The others gazed at the two second-years, realizing the importance of the question. Kotori and Umi both looked to each other for a second, before both looking back to Hanayo and smiling.

"Yes," they said in unison.

* * *

Tsubasa collapsed onto one of the seats in UTX's auditorium. She opened her water bottle and barely managed to bring it to her mouth for a much needed drink. She slowly felt the feeling return to her body, her energy slowly returning. As she closed the water bottle and set it back down with her bag, Anju walked up to her with a towel, offering it to Tsubasa, who gladly accepted.

"Thanks," she said, starting to wipe away sweat from her head.

"You're welcome," Anju said, smiling. "Sorry to be extra hard on you today."

"I guess I _do _deserve it for cancelling practices for selfish reasons."

"Oh please. You weren't the only one who got something out of it."

"Then why was I worked hard as well?" Erina asked as she joined them.

"So Tsubasa didn't feel alone. And for my enjoyment as well."

Erina gave Anju a look. "Seriously?"

Anju nodded. "Yup! I had no reason to do that to you except because I wanted to."

Erina brought her hand to her face. "I don't believe this..."

Tsubasa laughed, while Anju went over to give Erina a big hug. Not letting go of Erina after, she turned back to Tsubasa.

"Well, we're done with practice now," she announced.

"Yeah..." Tsubasa knew where this was about to go.

"Why don't you go see her already?" Anju asked.

"Don't I get a little time to collect myself first?"

"Collect yourself? Didn't you do that at lunch already?"

"Anju.."

Anju smiled innocently. "I just want you to be happier, that's all. We both do."

"I know.. Just give me more time, alright? I'm not as comfortable about this as you are."

"Alright, alright."

Settling that, the three of them cleaned themselves up and changed out of their sweats and back into their uniforms. They locked up the auditorium and returned the keys in the teacher's lounge, then made their way outside the school.

"Ah, the sun feels good right now," Anju said, her eyes closed as she took in the fresh air.

The other two A-Rise members looked at her in amusement.

"She's in her own little world again," Erina said.

"That she is, that she is," Tsubasa agreed.

"Kira Tsubasa," a voice called out.

The three looked to their left to see who was calling out. Their eyes widened in surprise, as eight familiar faces made their way toward them.

"Ah, it's Muse," Anju pointed out. She waited till they were all close. "To what do we owe this pleasure?"

"We have a favor to ask of you. Well, to ask of Kira," Eli announced.

_This should be interesting, _Tsubasa thought. After what had happened yesterday, she definitely wasn't expecting the other Muse to look for her, let alone ask a favor.

"Well, let's hear it," she said.

"First," Umi said, stepping forward, "We would like to ask something."

"Alright."

"What do you think of Honoka?"

Tsubasa's eyes widened in quick surprise again. Hearing that question, Anju realized what was happening. She backed away and stood by Erina, just behind Tsubasa.

"That's an interesting thing to ask out of the blue," Tsubasa pointed out. "Why so sudden?"

"Answer us first," Umi said firmly.

Tsubasa sighed. She didn't want to create any conflict, and responded. "She's a special girl. Very nice, energetic, funny."

"And, do you like her?"

"I don't. I love her."

"Good, that's what we needed to hear."

Tsubasa raised an eyebrow. "Meaning...?"

Kotori stepped to Umi's side. "Kira-san, we want you to ask Honoka-chan out."

That completely caught the three members of A-Rise off guard.

"W-wha?" Tsubasa stuttered.

"We want to apologize to Honoka properly. And we also want her to be happy," Kotori said.

"And you seem to be able to make her the happiest," Umi added. "We believe she also shares your feelings."

"We really messed up. If it wasn't for you, we would have never known, and Honoka-chan might still be depressed. We'll help, of course. So please.."

"Please... go out with Honoka."

Behind Tsubasa, Anju smiled slightly, noticed by only Erina. _This is getting interesting,_ she thought.

Tsubasa took a little time to consider their request. She promised Anju she would confess soon anyway, and now the other Muse are asking her for it. _Whether or not she planned this, Anju really is an expert, _she thought. She almost couldn't believe how things were working out right now.

"Alright," Tsubasa finally responded. "I'll do it."

A wave of relief swept over the other Muse. Smiling, Umi and Kotori both took a hand of Tsubasa, and started leading her.

"W-wait, where are we going?"

"Honoka's house, of course," Eli said in amusement.

"W-what?"

"That's right." Nozmoi smiled. "Sorry but we need you to confess tonight."

"But, she said she wanted to be alone tonight.

"Well, guess we'll have to ignore her one last time then," Kotori said.

"It's for her own sake, after all," Umi chimed in.

Tsubasa looked helplessly to her two friends, who both smiled in amusement.

"Hey, we're coming too," Erina called out.

"Go ahead," Nico answered them. "Might as well, right?"

Anju smiled, taking Erina's hand as they walked behind the struggling Tsubasa and the rest of Muse.

* * *

Honoka was laying on her bed, just staring at the ceiling. She thought she'd just lay there for the day, rest for a day. She also thought she would be alone, but having her sister sitting on the bed with her wasn't that bad either.

"You know, I thought you would be with Kira Tsubasa right now," Yukiho said.

Honoka hugged her teddy bear a little tighter. "No. We might see each other tomorrow. I just wanted to be alone for today."

"But why? You've spent so much time with each other last week, from what you told me."

"Yeah... but I might have a made a big mistake yesterday..."

"What do you mean?"

"Well... remember that manga I let you read before... the one with the forest fairies?"

"Faries... Wait..." Yukiho's eyes lit with understanding. "You didn't kiss her did you?!"

Lucky for Honoka she's just been staring at the ceiling, because she couldn't look at Yukiho in the face right now. Yet the guilty look told Yukiho all she needed.

"Onee-chan.."

"I-I know it wasn't a smart idea. But I couldn't help it! I've been wanting to for a while now... and then she did the same thing that happened in the manga... I got carried away."

Yukiho sighed. "Did she say anything after?"

"Not really... we just talked about hanging out tomorrow."

"Maybe you're still okay then..."

Honoka sighed now. "I don't know..."

Just then there was a knock at the door. Honoka and Yukiho looked to see their mother peaking her head in.

"Honoka-chan," she said. "There are a few girls here to see you."

"O-okay.. thanks."

Their mom disappeared behind the door again. Honoka and Yukiho looked at each other before they both got up and walked outside. They were in for a bit of a surprise.

"Everyone..." Honoka said as they stepped outside of the store.

"Honoka.." Eli said. "We... we came to apologize for how we've been."

"Oh.. is that so.."

Honoka had gestured behind her for Yukiho to go back inside. Yukiho quickly moved, not wanting to be around in case things got to tense. When she heard the door leading to their house close, she turned her attention to the other Muse, waiting.

Eli continued. "We've done a lot of thinking. And, we realize that that our actions have been unacceptable."

Nozomi nodded. "Also, as one of your seniors, I want to apologize for not noticing that you were in pain, as well as distracting Eli-chi during practice."

"I want to apologize for not preventing these actions during practice, and being a bad role model for the others." Eli said.

"We're sorry that we didn't notice you were sad," Rin said first.

"And for not honoring what you've done for us by abandoning you," Hanayo finished.

"I'm sorry as well," Maki said. "For not noticing that you were troubled, as well as for being irresponsible during practices."

"I'll apologize as well," Nico said. "For not being a good senior by making sure that you were okay, and for making practices hard for you to be around.

Kotori and Umi stepped forward to Honoka.

"And as your best friends," Kotori started. "we're so sorry."

"For missing all the signs, for abandoning you, for making you feel left out... for everything," Umi said

"We were terrible friends. You helped make us happy, yet we left you alone."

"And worse, the only thing we noticed was that you skipped practices, and we called you selfish and irresponsible."

"So.. from the bottom of our hearts.."

All eight of them bowed their heads.

"We're really sorry for what we've done," they said in unison.

After a few moments of quiet, they all looked up. There were tears forming in Honoka's eyes, something they were somewhat expecting. What exactly she was feeling though, they still couldn't tell. They just hoped what they did was enough.

"You all..." Honoka wiped a tear from her eye, trying to smile. "I'd like to accept all your apologies, I really would.. But I-"

"You're not sure if you can trust us again?" Nozomi guessed.

"Don't take it the wrong way..." Honoka said guiltily.

"We understand," Eli answered. "That's why we brought you something."

"Eh?"

"Honoka," Kotori said. "We promise we'll do better from now on for Muse. But especially, we'll do better for you."

"We promise things will be different from now on," Umi said. "And as both proof of our apology and our promise, we brought something we think will make you happy."

Honoka was a little bit nervous. "W-what would that be?"

"I think that would be me," said a voice behind her.

She instantly recognized the voice, and quickly spun around. Her heart was racing, almost unable to believe what she was seeing.

"Ts-Tsubasa?! W-what are you doing here?"

Tsubasa wanted to laugh at Honoka's reaction, but she knew not to, at least not yet.

"Well, I did a bit of thinking of my own," She said. "Okay, well I did have a bit of help. But, I've come to realize a few things."

"L-like?"

"Well for one..."

Tsubas put one hand behind Honoka's head, and brought her closer, placing her lips onto the surprised ginger's. She held them together for a few moments before she separated, smiling.

"I finished the last books. It was quite unfair of you to keep all the fun to yourself, right?"

_W-why is she setting up _that_ scene?_ Honoka gulped, unable to speak. A mixture of excitement and nervousness welled up inside her, getting an idea of where Tsubasa might be taking this.

"The truth is... Even if your friends didn't come to me and ask me for this favor, I would've been here anyway. Because, I just really wanted to see you again. I know we've only been real friends for a little while, but I can say this confidently now."

_Ah.. it's exactly the same. Which means..._

"Honoka."

"Y-yes?"

"I love you."

_S-she said it._

Aside from a few things, Honoka felt like she was in a dream. She felt a surge of emotions, and instantly she started tearing up again. Tsubasa almost reacted, but had no time. Honoka threw herself back onto Tsubasa, giving her a sweet kiss on the lips. She pulled away and, threw teary eyes, gave a big smile to Tsubasa.

"You don't know how much it means that you just said that."

Tsubasa smiled. "So does that mean..."

Honoka nodded. "Yes. I love you too, Tsubasa. And if you'd have me, I'll gladly be your girlfriend."

"Great. But first." Tsubasa wiped away the tears from Honoka's face. "What did I tell you about staining this face?"

Honoka just continued to smile as she rested herself against Tsubasa. Tsubasa in turn held Honoka tightly. From where she stood, she looked to the on-looking Muse.

"Apology accepted. And, thank you so much, everyone."

Finally, the eight girls waiting with baited breath finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"I hope you all will stick to your promise," Honoka added happily.

"You got it," Eli said.

They all smiled and looked on to their center, cheerful once again. And hopefully, they all thought, she'll stay that way for a long time to come. They couldn't let anything happen to Muse, or any of its members.

"How sweet," Anju said, walking up beside the other eight Muse.

"It sure is," Nozomi agreed.

"Here's an interesting thought," Erina said. "What will this mean for our groups, if our leaders our dating? There's still the Love Live competition."

"We can worry about that later," Umi said, turning away from the new couple to look at the others. "Right now I think they need some time alone."

* * *

**Hey guys, nobodD here!**

**I really focused to get these last few chapters out. But after this point it'll probably slow down again. This was a big chapter though, so as always let me know your thoughts and all. They're very appreciated :3 Also, let me know what you'd like to see. I may add some of those ideas into future chapters.**

**Also, don't be confused by the chapter title. This definitely isn't the end. I hope to continue this story for a lot longer. Hope you stick around as well.**

**I'll see you next time~**


	10. Progress

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

"Well," Eli said, looking to the other members of Muse and A-Rise. "I think our work here is done. We should give them some privacy."

The others agreed, and all turned to start heading home in different directions. Umi and Kotori stuck around a bit longer.

"Honoka," Umi called. "Should we still have practice tomorrow?"

Honoka finally turned her attention away from Tsubasa. She looked at Umi, though by resting her head on Tsubasa, and gave a smile.

"Yes we should. Don't worry, about us okay? We'll find time after."

"If you're sure," Kotori said.

Umi was satisfied with Honoka's answer, mostly because there were other things on her mind now that things were settled. She took hold of Kotori's hand and led her away, finally leaving Honoka and Tsubasa alone together. Honoka was the first to do what they were both thinking. She took Tsubasa's hand and together they walked into the store and into the house, heading for Honoka's room after a quick stop.

"I can't believe you convinced your family that easily," Tsubasa said once they were inside.

"Well, they've already met you before, so it wasn't that hard." Honoka smiled. "Which is good, because I really wanted you to stay over."

"Well, lucky for you my parents are out of town for a few days, so it won't be any trouble."

"Speaking of which.. your parents are gone a lot aren't they?"

Tsubasa nodded. "They have to travel a lot for their work."

"Ah. Did you.. ever get lonely when they were gone?"

"Maybe a little, but it's just something I got used to. And when Anju found out, she made it a point to come over every time they were gone."

_Hmm, I should remember to thank her some time_, Honoka thought. She smiled again. "Well, now I'll be your company whenever they're gone."

Tsubasa smiled as well. "I hope that's not the only time I'll get to see you."

"Of course not, silly."

Honoka wrapped her arms around Tsubasa, bringing her close for a kiss. To her, this one felt a hundred times better than the one they shared the other day. That one was nice and all, but it was in the middle of all the drama and flirting that happened. But now they were finally a couple, and it made this kiss so much more enjoyable for her.

As much as Honoka was enjoying this moment, Tsubasa was enjoying it ten times more. It's been a long time since she was first captivated by Honoka, and to have finally caught her was amazing to Tsubasa. She was extremely happy right now.

The rest of their night together was nothing special. Honoka let Tsubasa borrow some of her clothes for the night, like Tsubasa did for her before. They ate dinner shortly after, and spent the rest of their night together in Honoka's room. They got quite a bit of kissing done before they ended up falling asleep.

* * *

Tsubasa woke up the next morning in a very pleasant way. The first thing she was aware of was soft lips pressing against hers. She was certain the one who they belonged to thought she was still asleep. She tightened her hold on Honoka and kissed the unsuspecting ginger back, earning a muffled sound of surprise. She opened her eyes to a smiling face, and smiled in return.

"Good morning, Honoka," she said.

"Good morning, Tsubasa," Honoka replied. "Did you like your morning gift?"

"Well... I did, but then it ended."

Honoka gave Tsubasa another kiss, which lasted a bit longer. "Better?"

"Better."

"We should get ready soon," Honoka said with a sigh.

Tsubasa looked at the clock on Honoka's desk. "Ah.. You're right. What a shame..."

"We could always skip a day."

"Honoka..." Tsubasa's tone reminded Honoka of Umi.

"I was just kidding.." Honoka pouted a bit which made Tsubasa laugh.

"Do you want to go anywhere after our practices today?"

Honoka shook her head. "I just want to be here with you afterwards. If that's okay."

"That's fine, maybe another day. But we still have to stop by my house to pick up some stuff, so I can stay for a few more nights."

"Okay. How long are your parents gone for?"

Tsubasa shrugged. "I can call and ask later."

"I kind of hope it's for a while, so we have more time together."

"I doubt that'd stop us, though." Tsubasa sat up. "Come on, it's time to get up."

With another big sigh, Honoka sat up as well and both of them got out of bed. They helped each other get ready for the day. They walked together until they had to part ways to reach their schools.

* * *

During the lunch break, Honoka ate with just Kotori and Umi like they used to. Aside from that, nothing interesting happened during their lessons. After class, the three of them went to the clubroom together. They were the first to arrive, but the other members came soon after.

"Hello everyone," Maki said as she entered with Rin and Hanayo.

"Hey!" Honoka greeted them cheerfully.

"You look a lot better, Honoka-chan," Hanayo said.

"Eheh, thanks Hanayo-chan."

"We're here," Eli announced as she walked in a little after with Nozomi and Nico.

"Great! Now we're all here." Honoka got in front of the room. "Let's get changed and have a great practice, alright?"

The other members let out a response cheer. They were also happy that Honoka was truly back to herself. She hasn't sounded excited at the start of practice for a while, though now they all understood why. That was all behind them now, though, which they were glad to see.

There was something about practice that Honoka was happy about as well. The rest of Muse kept true to their promise, and they kept themselves from their flirting while they practiced. It felt just like the old times, before Honoka got them all to date each other. She was finally able to practice with all her energy.

Muse left together after practice. They walked together until they had to go separate ways to their homes. She does usually walk with them, but because she wasn't going straight home today, Honoka walked with Eli and Nozomi as they were on the way to where she would meet up with Tsubasa.

"Did Kira get you that?" Eli asked, noticing the pair of wing hair clips.

Honoka put her hand on one of the clips. "Yeah... we got it when you guys were following us on Saturday. It was for a disguise.. mostly."

"_Mostly?_ So... did she really get it for you?" Nozomi asked.

"A-anyway..."

"Honoka," Eli said. "There's something I need to ask you about."

"What is it, Eli-chan?"

"It's about the Love Live competition."

"...It's about Tsubasa... huh?"

Eli nodded. "I don't want to trouble you about it already... But she's still part of A-Rise. And they're-"

"Our competition, right?" Honoka sighed. "I know, I know..."

"Look," Eli put a hand on Honoka's shoulders, and the three of them stopped walking. "I'm not asking you to make a big decision or anything right away. But please give it some thought at least."

Honoka only nodded. Just then, Tsubasa appeared around the corner, and called out to Honoka, causing Nozomi and Eli to turn around. They decided to part ways with Honoka quickly, exchanging a friendly greeting with Tsubasa as they passed by her.

"I think you're over thinking the cards, Eli-chi," Tsubasa barely heard Nozomi say as they turned the corner.

_Cards?_ Tsubasa wondered. _Like in fortune telling?_

"Hey," Honoka greeted as Tsubasa got closer.

"Hey. What's with thoughtful look?"

Honoka wrapped her arms around Tsubasa and gave her a kiss. "I'll tell you later, alright?"

"Sounds fine, I guess. Shall we get going?"

Hand in hand, the two started walking together. As Tsubasa asked in the morning, they first went by her house so she could grab some extra clothes and belongings. She made sure to be quick about it, not wanting to waste too much time.

By the time they made it back to Honoka's house, it was time for dinner, which Honoka was secretly thankful for. They had dinner and were allowed to stay in Honoka's room for the rest of the night. Once they got inside, Tsubasa went to her bag of stuff from her house, and pulled out two books.

"Here you go," she said, handing them to Honoka.

"Thanks," Honoka said as she took the books and put them on her desk.

"So... are you going to tell me what was bugging you earlier?"

Honoka sighed. "Well... Eli-chan was asking me about the Love Live competition."

"Oh..." Tsubasa realized why it was bugging her. "Because we're in different groups, huh?"

"Yeah... She wants me to give it some thought soon."

"I understand... Erina asked me that as well."

Honoka embraced Tsubasa tightly, resting her head on her shoulder. "Have you thought about it yet?"

"A little... How about you?"

"Yeah... I was thinking about it while we were at your house."

"And? Did you come up with anything?"

Honoka stood up straight to look at Tsubasa directly. "I decided that.. I won't let my feelings get in the way. We still have goals we want to achieve. Muse won't back down, not even to A-Rise."

"Good. We wouldn't want it any other way."

"Even though we're against each other... I'll still silently support you."

Tsubasa gave Honoka a kiss, and then smiled after. "I'll support you as well, no matter what happens."

"I just really wish it didn't have to be this way..."

"I know... but we'll get through this. One way or another, we'll figure it out."

"Tsubasa... I love you."

"I love you too."

They shared another kiss, which lasted for a long time. Honoka slipped her tongue into Tsubasa's mouth, catching her off guard a bit. But Tsubasa didn't fight, opening a little more to give Honoka more access. Honoka explored as much as she could before they both had to catch their breaths. Tsubasa recovered a little quicker, and initiated another kiss, this time slipping her tongue into Honoka. Honoka mimicked Tsubasa's gesture, and gave her easier access. Tsubasa took advantage until they once again needed to stop for air. After a little bit, Honoka found enough energy to pull Tsubasa to the bed, falling onto the bed with her. There they continued their passionate session until they were tired enough to fall asleep.

* * *

**Hey everyone, nobodD here!**

**I'm sorry this was a bit delayed *bows*. Not much to say about this chapter other than bringing up the obvious obstacle that Tsubasa and Honoka will have to work through, being centers of competing idol groups. Aside from that, it's just a bit of fluff. Sorry if this wasn't much of a chapter.**

**I might have to change the rating of this story for future chapters... We'll see how things progress, haha. X3**

**Review if you can. Let me know what you think, and also what you might want to see. While this is mainly a TsubaHono story, I will start to include the other pairings in the chapters. Let me know if that's something you'd like to see also.**

**Hope to see you next time.~**


	11. Approval

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

The next couple of days went by somewhat routinely. Practices went back to normal, and Honoka spent as much of her free time as she could with Tsubasa, even if it was just them doing homework. They did find a way to make their time together even more enjoyable, even for the homework. There was an anime they happened to catch the other day. The episode in particular they saw, the characters were studying and using kisses as a reward every time one got the answer right. They were more than willing to use this method as well, which helped Honoka get through her work in a bearable way. Of course, they still occasionally got distracted by each other.

The Friday classes were done with, and Muse was gathered on the rooftop. They were stretching and getting ready for another practice.

"Honoka," Eli said as she tied her hair into a ponytail.

"Hm? What is it Eli-chan?"

"Do you remember what I asked you earlier in the week?"

"You mean about the Love Live competition?"

Eli nodded. "Did you give it some thought yet?"

"Yeah.. Actually, I talked to Tsubasa about it that day."

Honoka noticed that the others had finished with their stretches and were paying a lot of attention as well.

"Don't worry about me, everyone," she announced. "Not even Tsubasa will get between us. We're still Muse, and we're still going to win Love Live. Even against A-Rise."

Nozomi smiled at Eli. "See? I told you not to worry."

"Right..." Eli said, rolling her eyes.

"You can't blame her though," Umi said to Nozomi.

"Yeah," Maki joined. "It has been in the back of our minds as well."

"Ah, not because of you," Kotori said quickly to Honoka. "It's just-"

"I know," Honoka said. "I understand. Anyway, we got a lot of work ahead of us still. We have to practice hard."

"Right." Eli clapped her hands together. "Which we'll be starting now. Time for some warm ups."

Eli kept true to her word, as she made today's practice a lot more intense. Their starting warm ups were the only thing easy about practice today. Other than that, they were sort of reminded of how hard Eli worked them back when they were trying to convince her to join Muse. Except since she never made practices easier since then, this was a lot harder on them all. They knew it would help them, though, so no one complained at all.

Of course everyone was exhausted at the end. Once they were done, most of them collapsed onto the floor, just so they weren't standing anymore. Eli and Umi grabbed everyone's water bottles and handed them out, before they sat on the floor as well.

"That was good today," Eli said after taking a drink.

"It's not going to get easier though... is it?" Rin asked.

"No. Not until we're done with Love Live."

"Well it can't be helped," Maki said. "We need to be good to beat A-Rise."

Honoka finished off her water bottle. "We will win. I just know it."

They decided to call it a day, grabbing their stuff and leaving the rooftop. At the school gates they separated as they went in different ways to go home. After parting ways again at another corner, Honoka, Eli, and Nozomi were left together.

"Honoka, are you and Tsubasa busy tomorrow?" Nozomi asked.

"I don't think so, why?"

"How would you two like to go on a double date with Eli and me tomorrow?"

"Mm... Sure. I'll tell her about it later."

"Great. Well, this is where we'll part. See you tomorrow."

"Mhm! Bye Nozomi-chan. Eli-chan."

They waved bye to each other and Eli and Nozomi continued walking. Honoka stayed at the corner as this has been where she meets up with Tsubasa. As if on cue, Tsubasa came around the corner. They hurried to each other for a hug and kiss. After, Honoka held onto Tsubasa's arm as they walked home.

"How was your day?" Honoka asked.

"It was fine," Tsubasa replied. "I can't wait to get home though."

Honoka smirked. "Oh? Was practice tiring for you?"

"Well.. there's that too, I guess. But I think you know what I mean."

"Maybe," Honoka said playfully, sneaking a kiss on Tsubasa's cheek.

Tsubasa smiled. "How about you? How was your day?"

"It was good, actually."

"Really? Class wasn't boring for you?"

"I don't know.. I don't remember what happened during class."

"... Were you even paying attention?"

"No... I was daydreaming about you." Honoka gave a little laugh.

"Well, as sweet as that is, you know you should be paying attention to the lessons."

"I know... But I can't help it sometimes. Don't be mad."

"I'm not... I just hoped that we both weren't distracted today."

Honoka looked at Tsubasa. "You mean.."

"Yeah.. I didn't focus at all today either."

"Aww, how sweet," Honoka said, hugging Tsubasa a little tighter.

Tsubasa blushed slightly. "Well... One day couldn't hurt, right?"

"Well..."

"Honoka.."

Honoka sighed. "Yeah... _One_ day couldn't hurt."

Tsubasa smiled and snuck a kiss on Honoka's cheek this time. It took a few more minutes of walking until they reached the store. They greeted Honoka's mom as they passed by to the back leading to the house, and went straight to Honoka's room.

"Say, Tsubasa," Honoka said as the entered. "Was there anything you wanted to do tomorrow?"

"Nothing in particular, as long as we're together."

Honoka blushed. "W-well, Nozomi-chan invited us to go on a double date with her and Eli-chan. Do you want to?"

"A double date huh? Sure, I don't mind." _I might even see something interesting,_ she thought to herself.

"Okay. I'll call her later then and let her know."

"Good." Tsubasa grabbed Honoka and pulled her onto the bed.

"Someone's impatient."

"Can't help it," Tsubasa said, pulling Honoka close. She wasted no time in smothering the ginger's lips with her own.

* * *

"Nozomi."

"Don't just stop right before the good part."

"Why did you suddenly decide on a double date earlier?"

She sighed. "Aren't you even a little bit curious about how they're getting along?"

"Well, maybe a little. But why so sudden?"

"Well... I'm a little suspicious of Kira."

That definitely got Eli's attention. "You? Suspicious?"

"Well, we are competing after all. And Honoka's an honest girl. Even if she meant it when they _discussed_ it, I'm a little concerned Kira's feelings in all this."

"Heh, weren't you the one who said to trust Honoka to handle this?"

"Yeah... I was hoping telling you that would convince me as well."

Eli wrapped her arms around Nozomi. "You really are like a mother to the others."

"Would that make you the father?"

"...I walked into that didn't I?"

"Maybe." Nozomi gave Eli a kiss. "Hey, do you think Arisa is asleep now?"

"...Are you thinking about _that_ again?"

"I'm not the only one though."

"...Let's just finish the movie."

Nozomi smirked as she saw the blush on Eli's face. "You're terrible at hiding your feelings."

* * *

The four had agreed to meet up close to noon the next day for their double date. They choose to meet in front of Otonokizaka High School, which is where Eli and Nozomi were on their way to already.

"So, what exactly do you plan on doing?" Eli asked. Nozomi had been vague about the plans to the three of them on the phone last night.

"Just do a few things and see how they act."

"Vague as always, I see."

"Well if you know what I'm planning and start acting suspicious, then it might give it away."

Eli rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say."

Soon enough they reached the front of the school. They found Honoka and Tsubasa already there and waiting for them.

"Sorry to keep you two waiting," Eli said as they got close.

"We only got here a little while ago ourselves," Honoka told them.

"Well then, are we all ready?" Nozomi asked.

The younger couple nodded, and the four of them started walking.

"We'll go to the movies first," Nozomi announced. "After that, we can decide from there."

"What are we going to watch?" Honoka asked.

"One of the new movie that just came out."

"Which one is that?" Eli asked.

_Wait... _Tsubasa realized something. _The only new movie that came out was... oh dear.._

"What's wrong, Tsubasa?" Honoka asked, feeling Tsubasa squeeze her hand a little tighter.

"O-oh, nothing. Do you know what movie it is, Honoka?"

Honoka shook her head. "I don't know either. But I'm getting a little excited now!"

"That's the spirit," Nozomi said, smiling.

What Honoka and Eli were about to find out, was that the only movie that came out recently was a scary movie. And something else Honoka got to find out, was how easily Tsubasa was startled. On a couple of occasions, something would suddenly pop up or a loud enough noise would play, and Tsubasa would grab tightly onto Honoka's arm. Tsubasa's grip hurt Honoka slightly, but overall she still enjoyed the whole experience. Over to their right, Nozomi was enjoying a similar situation with an uncharacteristically jumpy Eli. She felt a little bad at what she was putting Eli through, though. So she kept herself from looking _too_ amused at Eli's reactions.

"I can't believe you made me sit through that..." Eli said as they walked out.

"Sorry, Eli-chi," Nozomi said, though she was smiling.

Eli sighed. "Well, is that what you wanted to see?" Eli asked, pointing.

Nozomi looked forward, following Elis' finger. Walking a little in front of them was Honoka and Tsubasa. When they were walking here, they had only been holding hands. But now they were walking with Tsubasa latched onto Honoka's arm. And from the side glances at each other, Nozomi saw a bright smile on Honoka's face.

"Somewhat.." Nozomi said.

Suddenly Honoka stopped walking and turned around.

"Um, I need to use the bathroom really quick," she said.

"Go ahead," Nozomi answered. "We'll wait right here."

"Actually, I need to go as well," Eli said suddenly. "Let's go together."

Honoka nodded, and the two of them turned back around for the bathroom, leaving Nozomi and Tsubasa by themselves. As they watched their loves walk away, Nozomi heard Tsubasa let out a sigh.

"Quite a big sigh there," Nozomi said, not looking at Tsubasa.

"Yeah.." Tsubasa said slowly. "I must have looked silly to her just then.."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because.. I was jumpy the entire movie. And Honoka handled it so well. I couldn't keep my cool... I think I might've her arm as well..." Tsubasa sighed again. "How pathetic..."

"Being afraid is nothing to feel ashamed of."

"Eh?"

Nozomi finally looked at Tsubasa. "Not everyone handles things the same. Just because you jump at things that she doesn't, doesn't make you pathetic. And Honoka would feel the same way. She isn't the kind of girl to judge others like that."

"You're probably right.. She doesn't seem like one to judge."

"She's probably happy to see another side of you as well. Imagine if you lied about being afraid and she found out a different way."

"I couldn't.. I'd never lie to Honoka. Not after she put all her trust in me before. That's why you planned this double date, isn't it?"

That caught Nozomi by surprise. "And if it is?"

"Well, it wouldn't be surprising. Honoka told me how you watch over and care for everyone in Muse." She looked Nozomi in the eyes. "I swear, I'll never do anything to hurt Honoka. I won't betray her in any way. And A-Rise will take Muse on fair and square for Love Live."

_Perceptive,_ Nozomi thought. "If that's the case, then I have nothing left to worry about." She smiled. "As the self-proclaimed _Mother of Muse_, I hope you two get along well. Take care of her, please."

"You have my word."

Honoka and Eli came back a little after. Honoka had hurried to Tsubasa, giving her a hug that nearly made them fall. As Eli reached Nozomi, she noticed the smile she was wearing.

"What's with that look?" Eli asked.

"I think we can fully trust her," Nozomi said.

Eli raised an eyebrow. "You're sure?"

"Positive. They're a great match for each other."

"If you say so." Eli shrugged. As long as Nozomi was sure, she might as well trust it.

* * *

Later that night, Honoka and Tsubasa were laying down in bed together. The rest of the house had long fallen asleep, but they were still wide awake. They didn't want to sleep so soon, as there was something on both their minds.

"Your parents are home again tomorrow..." Honoka said.

"Yeah..." She hugged Honoka tightly. "Don't worry though. It's not like this is the last time we can do this."

"But still..."

Tsubasa silenced Honoka with a kiss. "Everything will be fine."

"Alright." They laid quietly for a few moments. "Tsubasa?"

"Yes, Honoka?"

"Can we do something special for tonight then?"

"Sure, anything you want."

"Then.."

Honoka rolled slightly so that she ended up on top of Tsubasa. She started kissing Tsubasa before she had any time to ask what was happening. After a few moments, Tsubasa felt Honoka's hands by her stomach. Then she felt her shirt slowly being lifted up.

"Honoka?" she asked.

"Please?"

Even though the room was dark, they were close enough together that Tsubasa could see Honoka's pleading eyes.

"Alright.. go ahead."

Honoka kissed Tsubasa again. Tsubasa lifted her arms so that Honoka could finish slipping off Tsubasa's shirt. Then she took her own shirt off and tossed it aside. She enjoyed the soft feel of Tsubasa's skin as she felt up and down her body. Tsubasa was enjoying as well, but she tried hard not to make any noise.

"I love you," Honoka whispered.

"I love you, too."

* * *

**Hey guys, nobodD here!**

**So now, we'll start to see our main couple start to interact with the other Muse couples. Specifically, we'll get to see how Tsubasa interacts with them as she starts to befriend them, while keeping in mind she still has to go against them for Love Live. Most importantly though, Honoka and Tsubasa grow closer and closer seemingly every chapter. And let's be honest, we're mostly here for their moments alone together. X3 **

**Nozomi is the oldest member of Muse. And she usually gives advice when she helps out the other members. Because of these things, I sometimes joke that she's like the Mother of Muse. She is never referred to in such a way though. I just threw that in here xp**

**That's it for now. Ciao~**


	12. Enjoyment

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

Tsubasa was the first to wake up the next morning. As usual, they had fallen asleep with Honoka comfortably wrapped in her arms. She enjoyed the added treat of seeing Honoka almost completely without interruption, as a side effect to their _fun_ from last night. She was really tempted to feel more of Honoka right now, but she resisted the urge. Honoka looked very peaceful right now, and Tsubasa didn't want to wake her up unnecessarily. After a few minutes, Tsubasa's patience paid off. She heard the familiar sounds that let her know Honoka was waking up. As Honoka was starting to wake up fully, Tsubasa gave the sleepy girl a kiss.

"Good morning," Tsubasa said.

"Good morning," Honoka answered, rubbing her eyes.

"Did you have any wonderful dreams?"

Honoka shook her head. "I don't need any. With you, I'm already living it."

"Wow.. That was a bit corny." She gave Honoka another kiss. "But I like it all the same."

Honoka smiled. "So, is there anything you want to do today? Before you have to go back home and all?"

Tsubasa shook her head. "As long as it doesn't involve another scary movie, I'm fine with anything."

"Aww, but I was kind of hoping..." Tsubasa gave her a look. "Eheh, I'm kidding. Oh, I know! Let's go to a karaoke shop in Akihabara!"

"Karaoke huh? That sounds like a great idea."

"Right?" Honoka smiled brightly. "I get to hear you singing just for me."

"True. But it's a great idea because I get to hear your wonderful singing again."

"But, your singing is better."

"No, your singing is better."

Honoka was about to say something, but instead, they both started laughing.

"Are we really doing this right now?" Honoka asked.

"I guess. This is just silly."

Honoka wrapped her arms around Tsubasa tightly. "Well, either way, I still love hearing you sing."

"And I love hearing you sing, too," Tsubasa said, tightening her embrace of Honoka.

They shared another kiss which lasted for a long time. They shared a few more kisses, adding a little bit more to each one. After an extra half hour of an unplanned kissing spree, they finally got out of bed and started to get ready to go out.

It was the afternoon by the time they were ready, so they ate lunch before leaving the house. The ride over to Akihabara was nice and easy. Unlike the last time they visited together, they weren't under any pressure of being caught. So, the two of them took their time walking as they made their way to a certain karaoke shop that Tsubasa liked.

It wasn't surprising to Honoka that she didn't recognize this particular shop once they reached it. As they walked inside, and as they were led to a room, Honoka was looking all around. It was a very nice looking place. It looked practically new, which is because it was recently remodeled, according to Tsubasa.

Even the room they got was really nice. Though, a little more normal looking than Honoka was starting to expect. Still, she felt a little excited, and was also nervous. Ever since the start of Muse, she never felt as nervous about singing as she was feeling right now. Even though the crowds got bigger and bigger, singing with her friends had always helped keep her calm. Now though, she was singing by herself, and for the person she loves. Yet, she was more excited for the same reason, especially because of this morning. More than anything else, she wants to please Tsubasa.

"So, who should go first?" she asked.

"How about you start?"

"Sure."

Tsubasa sat down while Honoka picked up one of the mics and looked through the song list. She flipped through a few pages until she found a song she recently heard. She selected _Ai wa Taiyou Ja Nai_ from the list and sang.

**Shiawase o hohoemi o todokemashou…**

_Let's deliver happiness and smiles to everyone..._

**Chotto wakatta mitai kara dani nagareru hibiki  
Fui no deai janai youna  
Watashitachi konnani hikareru kiseki **

_I think I'm starting to understand the sound that flows through my body  
Our meeting wasn't unexpected  
It's a miracle that we're so attracted to each other_

**Daijina koto wa ashita o shinjiru ariakeegao**

_It's important to have a dazzling smile that believes in the future_

**Ai wa taiyou ookina taiyou  
Himawarigao agete oikakeru  
Ai wa taiyou terashi tsudzukete  
Onaji basho de saite itai  
Minna minna shiawase ninare!  
**_Love is like a sun, a big sun  
The sunflowers lift their heads to follow it  
Love is like a sun, illuminating the world  
I want to bloom with the sunflowers  
I want everyone to be full of joy!_

**Itsu datte hohoemi de utaimashou… **

_Let's always be singing with a smile..._

**Sou ne hashaide miseta anata no yasashii hitomi**  
**Namida koboreru ippomae de**  
**Watashi e to unazuku sutekina aizu**

_That's right, your eyes were so gentle as you frolicked  
Before the tears began to spill  
You nodded beautifully at me_

**Ganbare kokoro ashita wa ikou yo atarashi sekai**

_Do your best, my heart; tomorrow we'll be going to a new world_

**Koi no kumo ga hikari o ukete  
Fuwari to tsutsumu kara hajimaru no  
Koi no kumo ga atatameru kaze  
Kanjimashou soshite ima o  
Minna minna dakishimeru junbi! **

_The clouds of love bask in the light  
And are softly enveloped in it  
The clouds of love bring with them a warm breeze  
Let's feel it together_

_And prepare to embrace everyone now!_

**Ganbare kokoro daijina kotodesu**  
**Watashi to anata to koko kara umareru mirai**

_Do your best, my heart; this is important  
Now, a new future will be born for you and I_

**Ai wa taiyou ookina taiyou  
Himawarigao agete oikakeru  
Ai wa taiyou terashi tsudzukete  
Onaji basho de saite itai  
Minna minna shiawase ninare!**

_Love is like a sun, a big sun  
The sunflowers lift their heads to follow it  
Love is like a sun, illuminating the world  
I want to bloom with the sunflowers  
I want everyone to be full of joy!_

**Shiawase o hohoemi o todokemashou…**

_Let's deliver happiness and smiles to everyone..._

As she finished the song, she saw a big smile on Tsubasa's face. Instead of applauding, Tsubasa got up from her seat to give Honoka a hug and kiss. No complaints from Honoka, as it was definitely a reward she prefers a lot more than anything else right now.

"Hearing that reminds me of how you first caught my attention," Tsubasa said. "That was absolutely amazing."

"T-thanks," Honoka said with quite a blush.

"That song fits you pretty well, too."

"Yeah. I heard it at school the other day. When I listened to it, I thought it was really nice. And it works for us a little, too."

"Heh, I guess it does."

"So, it's your turn."

Tsubasa nodded and they switched places. Tsubasa took the mic from Honoka, and went to pick a song. Honoka got to sit down and enjoy listening to Tsubasa's singing this time. And as bashful as Tsubasa was when she finished, Honoka got up and rewarded her all the same. They stayed for a couple of hours before they decided to leave.

"So, what do you want to do now?" Tsubasa asked as they walked outside.

"I'm getting a bit hungry..." Honoka said as her stomach made a low growl.

Tsubasa giggled. "How about we get something to eat then?"

"Okay.. but.."

"But?"

"Do you think we can have a little picnic?"

"Picnic?"

"Yeah... I've kind of wanted to have a picnic with you. But I only remembered right now."

"I-I see..."

Honoka lowered her head. "S-sorry. We can just go somewhere to eat."

"Well if you want.. we can get some food to go and bring it home with us. We could eat at a park or something."

"Really? You wouldn't mind?"

Tsubasa shook her head. "Of course not. As long as it's what you want."

"Thanks!" Honoka gave Tsubasa a tight hug. "Well, what kind of food should we get then?"

"Let's look around and see."

After looking around, and with limited funds after karaoke, they decided to settle for fast-food. Although they ended up picking one of the busier places. So, it ended up taking quite a bit of time before they were able to even order, and some more time before they got their food and were able to leave. Thankfully for them, they still had a lot of extra time. Once they got their food, they headed straight for the station and caught a train home.

"I'm sorry," Honoka said, resting her head on Tsubasa's shoulder.

"Sorry? For what?"

"I was being selfish earlier, wasn't I?"

Tsubasa wrapped her arms around Honoka. "It's okay. I don't mind."

"But.." Tsubasa gave Honoka a quick kiss to silence her.

"I'll do everything I can to make you happy, even when it's something like this. I really don't mind, okay?"

"O-okay.."

Honoka reached for Tsubasa for another kiss, but this time making it last. After they spent the rest of the ride silently enjoying each other's company. Once they got back home and got off the train, they headed straight for the park.

The position of the sun told them that evening was soon, which meant that it was getting closer to the time when Tsubasa should be getting home. But right now, it was providing a beautiful display, sun shining behind the trees. They picked a spot a little off of the pathway. They didn't go home to get a blanket or anything, so they just sat on the grass. That didn't bother them though, as they got to eat and spent the rest of the time together, waiting around to watch the sunset.

* * *

**Hey guys, nobodD here!**

**I guess it wouldn't be a chapter story from me if it didn't include song lyrics in at least one chapter... lol. Song is _Ai wa Taiyou Ja Nai _from Honoka's solo album, of course voiced by Nitta Emi.**

**Just as a heads-up, I'm going to disappear for a few days. There are some things I need to take care of in my personal life, regarding some of my family. So I won't be able to write or update anything for a while. Sorry this chapter was a bit uneventful. I would have liked to write something better for you all before I leave, but I can't :x**

**I hope to see you all when I can finally update again.**


	13. Moving On

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

Afterschool at Otonokizaka High School. Some students have already gone home, but many stuck around for club activities, even if they weren't part of the club. While most of the school was filled with the voices of various students, there was one particular room where that sound did not reach. It was inhabited by four people, but none of them dared to make a sound. It was quiet enough that you could hear a pin drop, or feel like the low creaking of a wooden bench was the loudest sound in the world.

Though, the other three couldn't blame the fourth girl for moving even slightly and causing the wood to creak. They knew the girl quiet well, and for her to have to sit in such a silence for such a long period of time was agonizing. She wanted to apologize, but she didn't. This wasn't the first time this disturbance happened, and she learned from the first time not to try apologizing, as it would only make the situation worse.

Though, it was also hard for her to not apologize. She moved a hand in front of her mouth to keep herself quiet. The two girls sitting on either side of her both casted sideways glances, the noise making them a little nervous. The fourth girl, standing a few feet away from them and facing away, merely sighed. The three on the bench didn't dare react.

In the next moment, another familiar sound pierced through the silent air. A soft _thwang_, followed by a short hissing sound and finally a loud _thud_. The three girls on the bench, who had been holding their breaths since the creak from the bench, sighed together in relief. As the fourth girl lowered her arm, all she could do was sigh once more.

"See? Umi-chan is amazing," Honoka said, happy to finally be able to speak again.

"She's wonderful," Kotori chimed in.

"Y-you guys..." Umi couldn't help but blush as she put her bow away and joined the girls on the bench. As she sat down, Kotori handed her a towel and water bottle.

"Well, I'd have to agree," Tsubasa said.

She looked down the range at the target Umi had practiced with. Aside from two arrows, her other eight were nicely clustered in the center-most circle. Even then, the last two arrows weren't far from the center, as they hit the ring just outside of it.

"That's incredible marksmanship."

"Yes, well... If _someone_ could sit still for a little longer, the last two shots wouldn't be so off," Umi said. "Still, this was my best set of the day at least."

"Eheh... I'm really sorry, Umi-chan," Honoka apologized.

"It's okay. I really should be able to tune out distractions, anyway."

Kotori checked the time on her phone. "Oh, should we be going soon?"

"Sure," Honoka answered. "You two still want to come over?"

Umi nodded. "It's been a while since we came over to visit."

"That, and Umi-chan has been craving your family's manjuus again," Kotori added.

Honoka giggled. "Are you finished, Umi-chan?"

Umi nodded. "I'll change back into my uniform and we can go."

They waiting patiently for Umi. Once she returned, the four of them left the school. They walked in their two pairs on the streets. Honoka and Tsubasa led the way with Umi and Kotori slightly behind them. The best friends watched Honoka and Tsubasa's interactions.

"They've gotten really close," Kotori whispered so only Umi could hear.

"Yeah. It's reassuring to see."

They watched as the pair in front turned slightly to give each other a quick kiss. After, Tsubasa put an arm around Honoka and hugged her close. The two behind both smiled and the sweet scene in front of them.

"Hey," Kotori said, still in a low voice. "I'm getting a bit cold. Aren't you?"

"There are other ways to ask, you know," Umi replied. She didn't wait for it though, and put an arm around Kotori.

Kotori giggled. "Thanks. I'll give you a reward when we get to Honoka-chan's house."

"If I'm right, then it's been a while since you've given me that kind of reward."

"Well, you earned it. But..." Kotori kissed Umi. "I think this will do for now."

"That's more than enough for the moment."

* * *

"Mm..."

"Ah, what lovely sounds you're making, Umi-chan."

"T-that's because- Ah.. Your hands..."

"You weren't this loud before though. You must really miss this."

"W-well..."

Umi didn't finish her thought, and Kotori continued her work on Umi. On the other part of the bed, Honoka and Tsubasa sat resting against the wall, watching the scene with amused expressions.

"Hey, Honoka," Tsubasa said.

"Yes?"

"Would you ever consider learning how to give massages like Kotori-san is doing?"

Honoka giggled. "Is that a question or a suggestion?"

"Well-"

Tsubasa was cut off as Honoka caught her by the lips.

"Of course I'd learn, just for you," Honoka said with a smile.

"Ah..." Umi sighed in relief as Kotori got off of her. "That feels so much better."

"So, Kotori-san," Tsubasa said. "Do you always give Umi-san massages after her archery practice?"

"Well, archery isn't the only reason I'll give her a massage," Kotori replied. "But yes, I usually massage her after archery."

"It does wonders for me," Umi said.

"Is archery really hard?" Honoka asked.

"Not necessarily. But if you practice hours at a time, you start to feel it in your muscles."

"Given your aim, you must practice quite often," Tsubasa said.

Umi shook her head. "Not as much recently, with being in Muse and all. But I've been doing archery for many years now. I wouldn't be where I am right now without it."

Just then there was a knock at the door. It opened and revealed Yukiho behind it.

"Onee-chan, Mom wants us to help with dinner."

"Ah, okay. Thanks Yukiho-chan!"

Yukiho continued down the hall. Honoka turned to give Tsubasa one last kiss before she got up and followed her sister, closing the door behind her. Tsubasa turned and saw that both Umi and Kotori's eyes were fixed on her now.

"So.." Kotori started. "How are things with you and Honoka-chan?"

_I guess I should have been expecting this. They are her best friends after all, _Tsubasa thought to herself.

"Things are really good between us," she answered. "And don't worry, I promise I won't do anything to hurt her."

"We know, we heard from Eli and Nozomi," Umi said. "We don't doubt you, since we did ask you to help us after all."

"But, we're interested in how your relationship is," Kotori finished.

"Our relationship?" Tsubasa asked. "I'm not sure what you mean."

"Like, what have you two done together so far?"

"Well... we've gone on a few dates already. We've stayed over each other's houses. We-"

Kotori shook her head. "No, not like that."

"Huh?"

"You know..." Umi's face turned slightly red. "Like, have you two only kissed. Or..."

Tsubasa's face started to turn red as well once she understood what they were asking.

"O-oh.. W-well..." she stuttered. "I don't think I'm right to ask. You should wait to see what Honoka is comfortable about sharing."

"But, we want to hear it from you," Kotori said. "We could never ask Honoka directly about _those_ things."

"W-well... we haven't done _that_ or anything... But that's all I'm saying without Honoka here."

"Well, can you at least tell us who asks for it? Do you or Honoka?"

"It's kind of both of us, I guess? Whenever we want to do anything at all, we usually see if the other is okay with it first."

Umi and Kotori looked at each other, then back to Tsubasa with a smile.

"Then you pass," Umi said.

"Huh?"

"We're Honoka-chan's best friends. You should've expected us to make sure you're right for her," Kotori said cheerfully.

"Well... I did... though not in this way."

"Well, it's not like we're going to stop you guys from doing things together," Umi said. "But we wanted to make sure no one is forcing the other into anything."

"The part with you not wanting to say anything without her was a nice bonus," Kotori said with a wink.

"Eheh... I see," Tsubasa said. "You two really are her best friends, aren't you?"

"Hmm?" Both Umi and Kotori asked.

"Ah... nothing. It's just... I had a somewhat bad impression of you two before. And I said those things to you all..."

"Oh... You mean the day we looked for Honoka?" Umi asked.

Tsubasa nodded. "I see now that I was wrong in thinking you weren't really her best friends. I just got a bad impression because Honoka was suffering so much."

Kotori crawled to Tsubasa's spot on the bed, placing a hand over hers.

"Don't worry about it," she said. "We're just glad you stuck up for Honoka-chan. We really weren't acting like her best friends at the time, so you weren't wrong in seeing it like that."

Umi nodded. "We haven't gotten to thank you properly for supporting Honoka like that. So, thank you very much, from her two best friends."

They both bowed their heads slightly, which surprised Tsubasa slightly. "A-ah, don't mention it."

A knock came from the door, and Honoka peered through.

"Dinner is ready," she announced. "And we have manjuu along with it."

"Great!" Umi said, getting off the bed first.

Kotori giggled. "Come on Tsubasa, let's go."

The two got off the bed as well, and Kotori and Umi left the room. Honoka caught Tsubasa and took hold of her hand before they followed them.

"So, did I miss anything?" she asked.

"Nothing big," Tsubasa said with a smile.

* * *

**Hey everyone, nobodD here!**

**First off, I'm really sorry for being gone for a long time. *bows* Everything with my family should be taken care of now, though. So hopefully I can go back to updating a little more often for you all.**

**Not really much for me to say about the chapter itself. I guess as a side note, I actually do archery myself. I can say from experience that even when you're used to your bow, going a few hours straight of practice does start to get to you. It feels worth it though X3**

**Well, let me know your thoughts on the chapter, as well as the story as a whole. Leave comments or questions if you'd like, or PM if it's something a little more private.**

**I hope people are still here to read this. See you next time~**


	14. Planning

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

She added a little bit to the pot, carefully stirring its contents. After a couple of seconds, she filled the ladle in her hand and brought it to her lips. She let the taste fill her mouth. After a few seconds of contemplating, Honoka let out a sigh.

"Maybe just a little more..."

"Oh... That's quite a sigh there..." Tsubasa said, hugging Honoka from behind. "What's wrong?"

Honoka shook her head. "Nothing. Still working on dinner."

"Let me taste."

Honoka turned her upper body so she could hold the ladle up to Tsubasa.

"Hmm... I think it's good as it is," Tsubasa said.

"Are you sure? I didn't add as much as my mom did the other night, and I-"

Tsubasa interrupted Honoka with a kiss. Then smiled reassuringly.

"I don't care if it's not exactly like your mom's. I'm happy as long as you made it."

"Well... alright."

With her free hand, Honoka loosened Tsubasa's hug so she could turn around and face her properly and give her another kiss. After, Tsubasa got the table ready for them while Honoka brought the food. Once everything was set, they started eating.

"Do... Do you like it?" Honoka asked a bit nervously.

Tsubasa nodded. "It's great!"

"That's good," Honoka said, smiling.

"Thanks again for coming over on short notice."

"Of course. It's surprising that you parents got called away on another business trip, though."

They heard the wind howling outside, and the patter of heavy rain, making both of them turn to look out the window.

"Yeah... Especially with the weather getting like this now."

"I'm sure it'll be fine though. I mean, they'll be going to Paris this time right? That sounds fun."

"It's nice for them. Though, it works for us as well."

Honoka smiled. "Another week to ourselves."

"Your parents are okay with it?"

"Yup! They know about us already, anyway. So they don't mind."

"Lucky us, then."

Realizing that the food was starting to get cold, they quickly turned their attention back to dinner. They ate in silence so they could finish their servings before their food got completely cold. Once they were done, Tsubasa volunteered to clean up and let Honoka relax. Honoka took advantage of the time to take a bath, and afterwards changed into her pajamas. Then she waited patiently in Tsubasa's room until she finished doing the same.

"Oh, I just remembered," Tsubasa said as she sat down on the bed. "Anju and Erena are coming over tomorrow."

"Sounds fun. What are we going to do?"

"Not sure... Depends on what the weather decides."

Almost on cue, the sound of wind and rain from outside could be heard once again.

"Doesn't sound like it'll clear up by tomorrow."

"Yeah... but..." Tsubasa practically jumped into Honoka's lap. "At least that won't matter for tonight."

Honoka just smiled before giving Tsubasa a long, passionate kiss. Together, they fell back onto the bed, proceeding to drown out the sounds of the rainy weather.

* * *

The rain only let up for a brief time the next day. Anju and Erena just managed to make it to Tsubasa's house before the rain starting pouring down once more.

"It's really starting to come down now..." Tsubasa said as she looked out the front window.

"They say there might even be some thunder," Anju said as she pulled off her coat.

"No kidding? It's a good thing you two came when you did."

"Well if Anju took any more time, we might have gotten rained on," Erena pointed out.

Anju smiled. "Eheh... My hair's a mess in the morning."

"Here we are," Honoka said as she walked out of the kitchen, holding a tray of mugs filled with hot cocoa.

"Ah, thanks Honoka," Anju said as she picked up two mugs, handing one to Erena.

"Thank you, Honoka-san," Erena said.

"You're welcome," Honoka said with a bright smile.

"Thanks," Tsubasa said, taking the last mug from the tray.

"You're not going to have some?" Anju asked.

Honoka shook her head. "I'm going to start getting lunch ready."

"Ah, do you mind if I help?"

"Sure, if you'd like."

Honoka went back into the kitchen. Anju grabbed the bag she brought and followed shortly after. Tsubasa and Erena were left in the living room. They sat down on the couch as Tsubasa switched the TV on.

While the two of them got comfortable on the couch, Honoka and Anju made their way to the kitchen. As Honoka was putting on the apron she used yesterday, she looked curiously as Anju placed her bag onto the kitchen table.

"What's in the bag?" she asked.

"Ingredients. Just in case there's a chance to add them in."

"Ingredients? That's pretty convenient."

"I brought them just in case."

"Well lucky for us then, right?" Honoka smiled.

"Yes." Anju smiled back. "So, let's get cooking."

Due to the weather, they decided to make soup to keep the four of them warm. After putting a pot on the stove, Anju pulled a few things from her bag, and Honoka grabbed some stuff from the refrigerator. Together, they started chopping the ingredients up.

"Hey, Anju?" Honoka asked.

"Hmm?"

"Do you cook your own food a lot?"

"Yes. I cook as much as I can."

"Do you enjoy cooking?"

"I'd like to think so."

"Do you make lunches for Erena as well?"

"It's my favorite part of school mornings."

Honoka, without stopping cutting some pieces of chicken, glanced over at Anju. She had occasionally peaked from the corner of her eye as she asked her questions. And she noticed that after this last question and Anju's response, the smile Anju was wearing was noticeably brighter than it had been a few moments ago. Honoka turned her attention back to the food she was preparing.

"I see."

"What about you, Honoka? Do you enjoy cooking?"

"I can't really say... I only started to try last week."

"I see... Is Tsubasa the reason you suddenly had an interest in cooking?"

"Y-yeah..."

"But why? You know Tsubasa can cook already."

"I know... but I decided I wanted to learn to cook for her."

"But you know that she would happily-"

"I know she would... She's already done a lot for me. I want to be able to do some things for her as well, though."

"I see..."

"I've been thinking about getting a part-time job as well."

"Part-time job?"

That made Anju stop momentarily, but she got back to her task in the next moment. Anju's reaction amused Honoka a bit, making her smile.

"You know, Tsubasa got me this." Honoka put down the knife and pointed at the wing-shaped clips in her hair.

Anju stopped cutting again to look. "Aww, how cute."

"Yeah..." They both returned to the food. "She got it for me before we were even going out. It was-"

"On a date where Muse was trying to follow you?" Anju finished. "Tsubasa told me about it.

"Yeah... I haven't been able to do nice things for her to thank her yet."

"So... you want to work to earn some money to be able to thank her properly?"

Anju turned to see Honoka just nod quietly. She saw a very serious expression on Honoka, almost uncharacteristically serious. Then an idea popped into her head.

"Honoka?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"Can you put the noodles in? I just realized I left something outside."

"Oh, okay."

Anju quickly left the kitchen, making her way to the living room. Tsubasa and Erena both looked up at her, a little surprised to see her come in so suddenly.

"What's up? Is dinner ready?" Tsubasa asked.

"Ah, not yet," Anju answered. "I just have something I need to tell you really quickly."

"Oh? And that is...?"

"You picked a real winner."

"I... I did?"

"Yup. You have a lot of sweet things to look forward to."

"O-okay... And that's because...?"

"Well, I heard enough to convince me that you made the right choice."

"... I'm completely lost."

"That's fine. I have to return to making dinner now. Back in a bit!"

Anju gave a smile before turning around and disappearing into the hallway again. Tsubasa just looked after her, completely confused. She turned back to Erena, who was smiling at her.

"What?"

"You really didn't get it?" Erena asked. Tsubasa shook her head. "She's talking about Honoka."

"Honoka?"

Erena nodded. "She just came out to let you know she approves."

"Oh... I see. Wait, how did you know that? I couldn't even figure that out and I've been Anju's best friend for years."

"Yes, but I've been dating her for long enough to understand her language."

"Right..." Tsubasa rolled her eyes.

"Considering how much Honoka is on your mind, I'm surprised that wasn't your first guess."

Tsubasa didn't respond. She just blushed as she took another sip of her hot cocoa. Erena just smiled at her embarrassed friend before taking a sip from her own mug.

Meanwhile, Anju just made it back to the kitchen. Honoka looked up to see a big smile on her face.

"Hey, Honoka."

"Hmm?"

"How would you like if I help you out with cooking every once in a while."

"Eh? I guess that's fine... But why all of a sudden?"

"Shouldn't you be more excited? I do happen to know most of Tsubasa's favorite foods after all."

At the mention of Tsubasa, everything clicked inside of Honoka's mind. "You'd really help me like that?"

"If it were anyone else, I would say no. But you've just proven yourself in my books."

"Thanks Anju!"

Honoka put the knife in her hand down so she could run over and hug Anju.

"Alright. First let's start with finishing the soup."

"Oh yeah, about that. It doesn't look like we have enough for four bowls."

"Of course not. We're only making enough for two bowls."

"Two? Why only... oh..."

Anju rubbed Honoka's head. "You catch on pretty quick. Come on, let's go feed our girlfriends."

Together, they finished making the soup and filled two bowls full. Then Anju revealed the other things she brought in her bag. They got changed and brought the soup out to Tsubasa and Erena, who were both completely surprised by Anju and Honoka's sudden change of clothes. Neither complained, of course.

* * *

**Hey guys, nobodD here!**

**Well, Tsubasa was "tested" by some of Muse already. So for a bit of a change of pace, Honoka was now the one "tested." Somewhat... haha.**

**For those of you that have known me for a little while now, I have something special coming soon. I can't reveal too much, but I hope you'll look forward to it.**

**That's all from me. Not much this time around, but hope to see you around.~**


	15. Search

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

Honoka woke up early the next morning. As usual she was completely wrapped in Tsubasa's sleeping embrace. Not that she minded most of the time, but this morning she felt like getting up right away instead of just laying there until Tsubasa got up. She slowly and carefully freed herself from Tsubasa. Once she was out, she got up and stretched. She almost took a step forward, but managed to stop herself just in time.

Because of the bad weather that lasted all of yesterday, Anju and Erena ended up staying over for the night. And although there was enough space in Tsubasa's room, Honoka thought it would be more fun if they all slept in the living room. So, they brought two futons out, one for each couple. Luckily Honoka remembered just in time, as she almost stepped on Anju.

Carefully, Honoka walked around where Anju and Erena were sleeping. Once she was by them, she headed for the kitchen. _Maybe I should surprise them with breakfast_, she thought. _But what to make..._

"How about something simple?" a voice came from behind her.

Honoka turned around. "Anju? I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

"No, I was awake a few minutes before you woke up. Erena is just really warm."

"I know the feeling. Sleeping with Tsubasa makes me feel all warm and cozy."

They both giggled quietly when they realized what they just said.

"You were planning on making breakfast right?" Anju asked.

"Sort of. The idea just kind of came to me right as I woke up."

"Well, how about I show you some simple stuff to make then?"

"That sounds great!"

Together, the enthusiastic pair got started with breakfast. Though, they quickly found there wasn't much to work with as far as breakfast was concerned. They ended up with eggs, rice, and some toast. It was still somewhat cold, so they also made miso soup. Though this time they made enough for each person. They brought the food into the living room once they were done.

They found that Tsubasa and Erena were still sleeping when they got outside. Since they didn't want the food to get cold, they decided to just wake them up now. Though, Anju suggested something a bit different than what Honoka was thinking. Of course, they both wanted to have a bit more fun for the morning, so Honoka decided to go along with it.

Tsubasa felt extra weight on her stomach. But her futon felt really warm, so she didn't really want to wake up yet, and kept her eyes shut. Though, she soon changed her mind, as she felt soft lips meet her own. Quite pleased, Tsubasa finally opened her eyes. The moment she did, her face turned a bright shade of red. Her eyes revealed Honoka sitting on top of her, wearing only an apron.

"Good morning, Tsubasa," Honoka said sweetly.

"H-Honoka? W-what are you..."

"Waking you up, of course."

"Yeah but... what's with the... uh... outfit?"

"Do you like? Anju said you'd might like if I woke you up like this."

"Well... I can't really say I hate it..."

Honoka smiled before she bent down to give Tsubasa another kiss. "Don't worry," she said, turning her body slightly. "I'm not only wearing this apron."

"Eheh... I see." Tsubasa finally noticed the scent of food.

"Hungry? Anju and I made breakfast."

"I am a little hungry now that you mention it. Just let me get changed first."

"I should probably change too."

"Unless you plan on going out today in just an apron. Even then I wouldn't allow it."

"A-Anju?!" they heard off to the side.

Honoka and Tsubasa looked over to the side. Anju was doing just about the same thing as Honoka was.

"Oh good, you're up," Anju said happily.

"W-why are you doing that here?" Erena stuttered.

"Hehe, maybe we should give them some privacy," Honoka said to Tsubasa.

Honoka got off of Tsubasa and the two of them went to Tsubasa's room to change. Afterwards, they rejoined Anju and Erena, who also changed, and the four of them ate breakfast together.

"It's a good thing the weather cleared up," Tsubasa said.

"Yeah," Honoka agreed. "We'll be able to go out after all."

"Where should we go, though?" Erena asked.

"How about the park?" Anju suggested. "We can go into town afterwards, too."

"That could work," Tsubasa said. "We haven't been there in a while."

"Then it's settled."

With that decided, the four finished up their breakfast. Because Honoka and Anju made breakfast, Tsubasa and Erena said they would clean up. And after a bit of protest from the other two, they took the dishes to the kitchen. Left with nothing to do until they left, Honoka and Anju cleaned up the living room.

"Hey, Honoka," Anju said, in a somewhat quiet voice.

"Hmm?"

"About what you said last night in the kitchen... "

"You mean about the-"

"Shh. Yes, _that_. I was thinking while we're in town we can look together."

"Eh? You're going to look too?"

Anju nodded. "It's similar to why you want to."

"Well, alright. But why are we keeping quiet?"

"To surprise Tsubasa and Erena of course."

A little while after, Tsubasa and Erena returned from the kitchen. With everything taken care of, the four of them left the house and set off for the park. There were puddles all over the streets and sidewalks from the weather yesterday. They found it was not much different once they reached the park, with puddles all around the pathways.

With not much left to do, they decided just to walk around the park for a while. There weren't many people compared to normal for the afternoon. So they got to enjoy a quiet and peaceful walk through the park. At one point Honoka and Anju felt like jumping into a puddle because they were getting bored. Though, Tsubasa and Erena didn't quite appreciate getting splashed. They kept tighter holds on Anju and Honoka the rest of the time they were in the park. Once they had enough of the park, they went into town.

"So, should we eat first?" Anju asked.

"Nah. I think it's better to eat before we go home," Tsubasa said.

"How about we go in there first, then?" Honoka said, pointing at one of the stores.

Everyone else agreed because no one really had a specific place they wanted to go to first. The first store the visited was a hobby shop. They spent a little bit of time before leaving. From there they started going from store to store. They didn't really look to buy anything. They just looked around and enjoyed the day and each other's company.

One of the last stores they visited was a clothing store. With enough convincing from Anju, they managed to get Tsubasa and Erena to try on a few outfits. Honoka had gone to put back the outfits they tried already while Anju waited outside the changing rooms.

"Hey, Anju," Honoka said a bit quietly.

"Hm?"

"Seems like this place might have some openings, too."

"Guess we can add it to the list then."

"Do you think we should try a cafe or restaurant next?"

"Maybe. I kind of like the sound of that actually."

"Like the sound of what?" came Tsubasa's voice.

"Ah, nothing," Anju said cheerfully, trying to convince Tsubasa.

"Oh?" Tsubasa felt something was off, and looked at Honoka.

"Really, it's nothing," Honoka said.

"Well... alright then."

"Anyway, I think you should keep that. It looks nice on you."

"Y-you think so?"

"Yup!" Honoka pounced on the blushing Tsubasa with a hug.

"W-well... Even if I did want to, I don't have enough for it."

"That's okay. I'll it for you!"

"Eh? Are you sure?"

"Did you not want it?" Honoka made a little sadface.

"T-that's not it. It's just that you don-"

Honoka put a finger on Tsubasa's lips to silence her. "I know I don't _have_ to. But I _want_ to buy it for you. Is that alright?" she asked

The way Honoka spoke made Tsubasa back down instantly. "Alright.. Sorry."

"Wow," Anju said, impressed. "I didn't expect that to work that easily."

Honoka returned to her usual mood and hugged Tsubasa.

"Hmm... I wonder..." Anju said, more to herself than the couple in front of her.

Erena came out a little after, and Anju tried to play the little trick Honoka just did. It took her more effort, as Erena wasn't as easy to convince this time around. Honoka and Tsubasa had time to pay for the clothes and come back before Anju finally convinced Erena.

Once they were done, they found a crepe place nearby and decided to try it out. Because of the clothes, they had less money to spend on food. So they ended up only being able to buy two crepes. Though they were fine with it, because they could share.

As it started getting late, they decided to head home. They went back to the park together, but went separate ways after, because Tsubasa and Anju's houses were in different directions.

"Honoka?" Tsubasa asked after they left the park.

"Hmm? What is it?"

"It's about what you and Anju were talking about earlier... Are you really telling me the truth?"

Honoka stopped the moment she heard the question. She looked almost in disbelief at Tsubasa for a few seconds, before averting her gaze.

"H-hey, I didn't mean it like that... I just-"

"We kind of are lying to you."

"...Huh? What do you mean?"

"It's not really _nothing_. I had to tell Anju something important."

"Anju, huh? You two have gotten close pretty quickly."

"...Tsubasa? Are you... jealous?"

"Yes... I'm pretty jealous. You two seem to get along so well, and-"

Honoka took both of Tsubasa's hands in each of her own, and looked her straight in the eye.

"Tsubasa, there's nothing like that going on between Anju and me. She's just helping me work on a surprise for you. But we obviously can't tell you what it is yet."

"...That's all?"

"That's all. You have nothing to worry about. I would never betray you like that."

Tsubasa sighed. "Okay. I'm sorry for not trusting you."

"It's okay. I know how you can make it up to me."

"How's that?"

"You'll see when we get home."

They shared a kiss and got to watch the sunset as they continued on home.

* * *

**Hey guys, nobodD here!**

**Sorry this took so long. I was having trouble figuring out how to end the chapter. Hope you still like it, though. Lemme know your thoughts and all. Thanks!**

**I'll see you next time!~**


	16. Decision

**For a pic showing close to the outfit that's used toward the end of the chapter, check out my Dropbox. Link is on my Fanfic profile.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

The following week was the week leading up to the next round of the Love Live competition. As usual, Muse was having their regular meeting of the week before they went into practicing. The atmosphere was quieter and more serious than usual. Everyone knew it was almost time.

"We slacked off a bit, but now we have to get serious," Eli told the rest of Muse.

"The next round of Love Live is getting closer," Umi said.

"That's right. From now until the competition is over, we'll be working extra hard."

"Does that mean Eli-chan is going to make our practices twice as hard?" Hanayo asked.

"No, Hanayo," Nozomi answered. She smiled. "She's going to make it five times as hard as usual."

"T-that sounds a bit scary even for Eli-chan," Kotori said.

"It can't be helped though, right? This is for more than just us. This is for the whole school," Maki pointed out.

"She's right," Nico agreed. "We have to do it for all our fans."

Just then, the door opened and they all tuned to look as Honoka entered the clubroom.

"They gave us permission to stay an extra hour for practice until Love Live is over," Honoka announced.

"Good. That will help us out a lot," Eli said.

"Eh? You're making us stay later every day?" Rin asked surprised.

"I didn't know about this..." Nozomi said.

"Isn't that taking things a bit far?" Maki asked.

"Wait, everyone," Honoka said, getting the others to calm down. "It was my idea, not Eli-chan's."

"Honoka? You asked for this?" Umi asked surprised.

Honoka nodded. "The next round is soon, and we've fallen behind on our practices because of a certain problem before."

The others were silent, knowing exactly what Honoka was talking about.

"We still need to help save the school. And if we want to do that, we can't waste any more time. We have to practice hard. We still need to win Love Live."

"Well, when Honoka-chan's this serious, it's hard to disagree," Kotori said. The others nodded in agreement.

"So it's settled then," Eli said. "Bring the music, Maki. Let's get started with practicing."

Muse went ahead while Honoka stayed in the clubroom to change. She met up with them on the rooftop. They warmed up with stretches before Eli made them work harder than ever before during practice.

* * *

Honoka had messaged Tsubasa ahead of time that she would be late out of practice, so she didn't go to the spot they usually met after school. Instead, Honoka went straight to Tsubasa's house.

The walk was somewhat painful for Honoka. Her muscles were sore from the extra hour of practice, along with Eli's usual practice regiment. Also because she had to walk alone this time around, and the silence was also torture for her.

She finally made it Tsubasa's house. She knocked on the door and waited. When there was no answer, she knocked again, a little louder. "Come in," she heard Tsubasa yell from inside. Honoka turned the doorknob to find the door was actually unlocked. She let herself in and locked the door behind her.

"I'm in the living room," came Tsubasa's voice.

She removed her shoes and left them at the front, then made her way to the living room. When she stepped inside, it looked as if Tsubasa had collapsed before she reached the couch. Her upper body was laying on the couch, but she was mostly on the floor.

"T-Tsubasa?" Honoka rushed over and kneeled beside Tsubasa. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"Don't worry, I'm okay," Tsubasa said. "Just tired from practice."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Now stop worrying."

"Never," Honoka said, smiling. She lifted Tsubasa onto the couch and laid her on her stomach. Then she sat on Tsubasa's back.

"Honoka? What are you doing?"

"Helping you relax."

Before Tsubasa got to ask, Honoka placed her hands on Tsubasa's back and started massaging her. Tsubasa instantly felt a lot better, as if she had been relaxing all day.

"When did you learn how to give massages?" she asked.

"I didn't really learn. Kotori-chan just showed me a little bit during lunch," Honoka explained. "Does it feel good?"

"It's very nice." Tsubasa said.

Honoka was glad to hear Tsubasa say that, and continued with her massage. Tsubasa felt completely relaxed under Honoka's control. The weariness she was feeling earlier went away, all the pain seemed a lot more bearable now.

"So, A-Rise is also practicing harder than before?" Honoka asked.

"Yeah.. It's what we all agreed on before. It took a lot more out of me than I thought it would, though."

"That's surprising. You usually take better care of yourself than that."

"What about you? Isn't Muse practicing for an extra hour everyday now? Aren't you tired or anything?"

"Now that you mention it, I was kind of sore on my way over here. I think I completely forgot when I saw you on the floor looking exhausted."

"I-I see..."

There was a few moments of silence while Honoka continued to massage Tsubasa.

"We're not going to get as much time together for a while, huh?" she asked.

Tsubasa thought about it. "Maybe not... We are in competing groups after all..."

Honoka sighed as she finished up. She moved Tsubasa a bit so she could lay on the couch next to her. They immediately were wrapped in each other's arms.

"It doesn't help that we can't spend the night together either," Honoka said.

"Well, we'll just have to make the most of our little time together this week," Tsubasa said.

She gave Honoka a kiss lasting a long time, only pausing when they needed some air. Tsbuasa decided she would do something to help Honoka feel better as thanks for the massage. Though she couldn't give a massage herself, there were other ways. She asked Honoka if it was okay before she began. They both had an enjoyable time before Honoka had to leave.

* * *

Just as they expected, Honoka and Tsubasa ended up spending less time than they wanted together with the way everything was working out. They only got to see each other for an hour or two each day for the rest of the week.

The next round of Love Live was at the end of the week. An incredible performance saw Muse through to the final round of the regional round. This put them up against A-Rise for a spot in the final event. For now, though, Muse enjoyed some much needed and well deserved rest the following day. Most of them got together and spent the day together relaxing at Nozomi's apartment.

The only exception was Honoka, who spent the day resting at home so she could meet with Tsubasa later that night. They decided on going out somewhere for dinner, as neither home would be private enough. It was also a good excuse to go on a little date, and with the little time they had together this week, they were more than willing to work with that.

They picked a new restaurant that had recently opened in town. Tsubasa had gotten the recommendation from one of her classmates. It was a nice restaurant, so the two of them wore dresses. Tsubasa's was purple, with a purple choker collar and gloves with intricate designs in black. Honoka's was cream with bows on the two shoulder straps.

When they first walked in, they were somewhat surprised that it wasn't full. They found out that tonight was reservations only. Luckily for them, Tsubasa's friend had handled that for them beforehand. With their entry cleared up, they were led to a small booth for two. It took a few minutes for them to look over the menu and decide on something.

"You should really thank your friend for this," Honoka said after their orders were taken care of.

"Definitely." Tsubasa looked around. "This is quite a fancy place."

"Yeah... I feel a bit out of place, really."

"Me too. But at least we dressed appropriately. It helps a lot."

"Speaking of which, you have a great taste in dresses."

"Why do you say that?" Tsubasa hoped the blush on her face wasn't apparent.

"Because, this extra dress you had is amazing. I really like it." Honoka looked at her dress again, appreciating it more.

"You look amazing in it as well." Her face was pretty red now.

"T-thanks." So was Honoka's. "It's funny. This dress fits me perfectly. Almost like you had it picked out specially for me."

"Y-yeah. What a coincidence..."

"Tsubasa? Did you get this just for me?"

"O-of course not." She looked away.

Honoka raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

"... It might be possible that I've had this dress for a while, and have been waiting for a reason for you to wear it..."

Honoka smiled. "You're incredibly sweet, you know that?"

"I-I'll only believe that since you're the one saying it."

Shortly after, their food came. They ended up not talking much while they ate. Their food was even better than they were expecting. They couldn't stop for long enough to really say anything. It didn't take them too long to finish. Wanting a little more, they ended up ordering desert as well.

"Honoka..." Tsubasa said. "There's something we really should talk about."

"Is it about Muse and A-Rise going against each other to get to the finals?" Honoka asked.

"Yeah..."

Honoka sighed, knowing they'd have to discuss this eventually. "What do you think we should do?"

"Well... It would probably be best if we didn't see much of each other until after the next round is over."

"You... might be right... We haven't gotten to spend much time together lately."

"I know... But it's probably what everyone else would want."

"Yeah..."

"But, I think this time, we should be a bit selfish, and not do what the others would want."

"Wait, you mean..."

Tsubasa smiled. "I'm thinking of staying over for a few days at your place. What do you say?"

"I would've made it happen even if you didn't ask," Honoka answered, smiling back.

"Great. Shall we go, then?"

Honoka agreed, not wanting to waste any more time than was necessary. They paid and left the restaurant, heading to Tsubasa's house first. She had already prepared what she needed earlier, and had gotten permission from her parents as well. After quickly grabbing her things, they hurried to Honoka's house. They went straight for her room and, while still in their dresses, started making up for lost time.

* * *

**Hey guys, nobodD here!**

**I'm so terribly sorry . I have no excuse for this being so late. I hope the chapter was still okay to read, though. Let me know your thoughts. We're slowly approaching the end, but I won't give an amount of chapters till the end.**

**If you haven't seen from my other story, my next semester of college started today. I know this means I'll most likely be slower with my stories, but I hope people will still stick around. I made sure to get this done now while it's the first week and not much was assigned yet. **

**I hope to see you around~**


	17. Arrangements

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

"Ah, Honoka-chan," came a familiar voice.

Honoka looked up from her phone screen. "Hey, Anju-chan."

"Sorry I'm a bit late. Practice took a bit longer than expected," she explained.

"It's alright. Well, are you ready?"

They both faced the building they were standing outside of.

"Let's do it," Anju said simply.

Together, they walked into the shop, instantly being greeted by the scent of coffee. The inside of the shop itself looked fairly typical. They were met by a waitress with strawberry blond hair that fell to her shoulders, and in an interesting uniform. She looked about the same age as they were.

"Welcome!" She said. "Table for two?"

"Actually, we're here looking for a part-time job," Honoka explained.

"Would that be possible?" Anju asked.

"Ah, sure! Let me talk to the owner. Why don't you have a seat while you wait."

The waitress led them to a small booth near the back. She disappeared through the door leading to the back. After a few minutes, she returned, asking them to come inside. They followed her through the door. The back area reminded Honoka of her own home, but a little more traditional looking.

The girl left them in front of the owner's office. After knocking and getting permission, they entered. They found the owner, who was in the middle of talking with a young looking girl with long light blue hair, which reached halfway down her body due to her size. They could tell she was shy, because she quickly fled once they had entered the room.

The owner himself was very nice. After a couple of minutes, they had worked out their part-time schedules. It was only a temporary arrangement, as practices would slowly get emphasized when the next round was drawing near. For now though, they would be working right after practices ended, and would stay until closing hour. Not the easiest, but Honoka and Anju were as enthusiastic and optimistic as ever.

The girl with light blue hair came back so she could take them to try on the uniforms. As they walked, they found that this girl was actually the owner's daughter, and that this coffee shop is a family-owned business. They also found that she was as young as she looked, which was a few years younger than Yukiho and Arisa.

When they reached the employee room, the met strawberry blond from earlier as well as another girl. She was slightly taller, with long purple hair in two ponytails. They exchanged friendly greetings before the owner's daughter brought them to some of the unused lockers. She opened two of them and handed them the uniforms inside. The uniform consists of a long ankle-length black skirt, a white blouse, and a colored waistcoat and bowtie. The other three girls had waistcoat and bowtie colors that matched them. Pink coat and red tie for the strawberry blond, blue for the owner's daughter, and purple for the tall girl. It seemed like Honoka and Anju's uniform would follow the trend, as their uniforms matched them as well.

After trying the uniforms on and finding they were perfect fits, the five of them began talking to get to know each other better. It turns out that the two other girls were also here working part time. The strawberry blond lives here through arrangements, and works to compensate her living expenses. She's also the same age as Honoka and Anju. The taller girl was a year older, making her the same in age and grade as Eli, Nico, and Nozomi.

They spent around an hour leisurely chatting about more random things until Honoka and Anju realized they should get going. The owner's daughter told them they would be starting tomorrow, and to come straight afterschool this once, so they could do a bit of training.

"I'm getting excited for tomorrow," Honoka said as she left the coffee shop with Anju.

"Me too," Anju replied. "It's going to be a lot of fun."

"Yeah! I can't wait to wear the uniform again. It was so cute!"

"Hehe, yeah. It's a shame, though. We'll only get to for a little while, with the next round of Love Live being in a few weeks."

"I guess so. But no matter what happens, we'll both get to come back and work together after."

"That's true. Everything will work out in the end."

"Yup!"

They continued their fun and excited conversation, thinking about what things they might get to do starting tomorrow. It lasted until they reached a certain street. Honoka was going to Tsubasa's house, while Anju was going to Erena's. They reached the street where they would have to part. They agreed on meeting back at this spot right after school tomorrow and going back to the coffee shop together. After a bit of stalling, they both finally said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Honoka's mind was still having a few last thoughts about tomorrow. Finally she snapped out of it and, at the reminder of where she was going, started to pick up the pace.

* * *

As much as she didn't want to, Tsubasa stopped Honoka from her barrage of kisses.

"Honoka?" she asked.

Honoka pouted, having been interrupted. "What?"

"I was just wondering.. What did you and Anju do today?"

"Oh! Well we..." Honoka stopped herself. "...Sorry. I can't tell you. It's part of the surprise."

"That again?" Tsubasa sighed. "You know I'm starting to get really curious about this surprise you've been so focused on."

Honoka barely managed to move Tsubasa's hand from her so she could kiss her again. "Eheh, sorry. You'll get to find out soon, I promise."

"I guess that's fine then."

"It'll be worth it. You just wait and see."

"Since it's from you, I'm sure I'll love it no matter what."

Honoka blushed a bit. "Aww. Tsubasa-chan always says such sweet things."

"Ch- _chan_?"

"Y-yeah.. I mean.. We have been dating for a few weeks now... Was I not supposed to?"

"N-no, no. It just surprised me a little.. It's okay with me, Honoka-chan."

Honoka smiled. "Tsubasa-chan!"

She hugged Tsubasa tightly, and she moved just enough to knock down her and Tsubasa from where they were sitting on the bed. Together they continued their previously interrupted moment.

* * *

"I have something really important and I need to go."

"Wait, Honoka!"

"Sorry, Umi-chan. Tell Eli I'm sorry for missing practice as well. Bye Kotori-chan!"

Before either of her friends could say another word, Honoka had already left the classroom. They continued looking at the door she left out of.

"What... was that all about?" Kotori asked.

"I don't know..." Umi said. She stood from her desk. "Come on, practice is starting soon."

The two of them walked out of the classroom together. They held hands as they walked to the clubroom. They got their before most of the others, walking in on a very suspicious looking Nozomi and Eli. They waited for the others to arrive before Umi explained what had happened earlier.

"This really isn't the time for her to be doing this..." Eli said, a little annoyed.

"Why is that?" Maki asked.

"We were going to start picking up the pace for practice to be able to compete with A-Rise," Eli explained.

"A-already?" Nico asked, hoping it wasn't true.

Eli nodded. "We're going to have to."

"Nya... Rin has something to say," Rin said, raising her hand. "We might know something about Honoka-chan."

The other six members turned to look at Rin and Hanayo.

"Do you know what's happening?" Kotori asked hurriedly.

"W-well, we happened to see Honoka-chan yesterday," Hanayo explained. "And we saw her with Anju."

"Anju? From A-Rise?" Nico asked, incredibly surprised.

"Nya, that's right," Rin said.

"But Honoka's dating Tsubasa. Why was she alone with Anju?" Umi wondered out loud.

"Honoka doesn't seem like the girl to cheat on someone," Nozomi said. "So I think we should all calm down before everyone starts jumping to conclusions."

"But, she's skipping practice, and this is the only hint we have to work with," Eli said.

"Relax, Eli-chi." Nozomi put her hands on Eli's shoulders to calm her down. She looked to Rin and Hanayo. "Where did you two seem them?"

"It was in town," Hanayo answered. "By the time we saw them, I think they were already on their way home."

"We should go look for them," Nico suggested. "This is getting us no where right now."

"Agreed," Eli said. "Alright, we'll cancel practice today to go into town and look for Honoka."

"Wait, let's think this over..." Nozomi said.

"Should we split up like last time?" Umi asked.

"We can cover more ground that way. But let's have different partners. We all remember how well it went last time," Maki reminded them.

"Everyone.." Nozomi tried saying again.

"You don't think Anju could be plotting something, do you?" Rin asked.

"That might make sense," Eli said. "She is our competition after all."

"But Honoka-chan wouldn't agree to anything that would hurt our chances," Kotori reminded them.

There was more guesses as to what might be happening as they all got their stuff together and left the clubroom. Nozomi stopped trying to reason with them and sighed. _Honoka, please tell me you're doing something perfectly innocent..._ Nozomi pleaded in her mind. _Because this isn't looking good._

* * *

**Hey everyone, nobodD here!**

**Okay, so, yes. Honoka and Anju's part-time job is a reference to another anime. I'm still not sure whether I want to use the characters' names from their anime, or just use a generic set of names. What do you guys think?**

**Hmm... now I want some coffee...**

**Kotori: **Here you are *sets down a mug*

**Yay! ^.^**

**Maki: **uh oh, Author is trying out having convos in the notes now.

**Don't judge me..**

**(But in seriousness, some other people make these extremely fun. Reading some of those made me want to try... haha. Anyway, to the people that do this, don't take any offense by it. And to you readers... I'm sorry if you don't like it but xp)**

**Well back to the chapter itself, pretty simple stuff. I've been meaning to do a small scene like that for Honoka and Tsubasa for a bit now, but I always forget. (oops) I noticed that a lot of doujins they address each other like this, and thought to myself to add that in. It was bugging me alot otherwise, haha..**

**Hanayo: **Hey, don't you have an event to be participating in?

**Ah, you're right. I'll wrap this up then. I gots an event Hanayo card to work toward ;) **

**See you next time~**

**Edit: I realize there is some incorrect information about the workers of the coffee shop. It shall be fixed starting next chapter.**


	18. Helping Hand

**So, I made a mistake in writing the last chapter. The light blue haired girl is the owner's granddaughter. The person that Anju and Honoka talked to in the last chapter is the girl's father, but the owner's son. A few details slipped my mind so I referred to them incorrectly T.T Sorry about that! It shall be fixed from now on.**

**Major Mike Powell III: They are from Gochuumon wa Usagi desu ka. The names will come along in the chapter :3**

**PyoKuuPyon: Yes, yes they are ^.^**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

Muse has made their way into town as quickly as possible. Instead of dividing the way they did the last time, they decided to keep the couples together this time around. Eli assigned each pair an area to look around, and set a time for them to meet back. Nozomi tried one last time to reason with the others, but it was a lost cause. With everything set, they all separated.

"I don't get what you're so upset about," Eli said, eyes scanning the streets.

"You're all overreacting," Nozomi answered. "Especially you, Eli-chi."

"Nozomi, the next Love Live round is soon. We can't get distracted now. Yet, Honoka left without an explanation."

"Eli-chi, the next round is a little over a month away." She stopped walking, prompting Eli to do the same. "Look, even though she left all of a sudden, I still trust Honoka. She probably has a good enough explanation for all this. But you and the others are not in the right mood to see her right now."

"But we need to practice. We were close to not making it, remember? We have to a whole lot better if we want to beat A-Rise. Don't you want to save the school?"

_What's with everyone today? This is getting nowhere..._ Nozomi sighed. She was going to say something, but caught sight of something a little strange behind Eli. _Eh? Was that shop there before?_

"Nozomi, are you listening? Come on, we have to start looking."

Nozomi simply nodded and the two started walking. It was fairly quiet between them except for when Eli would suggest something related to their search. Nozomi was only paying enough attention to keep pace with Eli, but otherwise was lost in her own thoughts.

_I hope no one else looks in that shop. It's probably best that I look myself._

* * *

Chino, the owner's granddaughter, had gone through all the basics the moment Anju and Honoka had arrived. The only thing left was for them to learn how to prepare all the different types of drinks. Chino was currently going over them with Anju. Meanwhile, Honoka was with Rize, the older girl with purple hair. She had something like a needle in hand, and had been playing with it in the latte for a little while now. On the surface of the latte, was the image of a rabbit.

"And... done."

"Ah, Rize-san, that's so cool!" Honoka exclaimed.

"Thanks. It's latte art. Would you like to try?"

"I want to, but I can't even draw nicely."

"That's okay. Just try something. How about Muse?"

"Well, alright."

Rize handed Honoka the needle, and Honoka started trying to write Muse in the foam. She realized it was a little trickier than she thought. She was admittedly a little nervous, and it showed by how uneasy and how quickly she moved her hands. Because of this she couldn't write Muse out properly. Rize got another latte and encouraged Honoka to try again. She got it on her second try.

"There you go. See, you did it," Rize said.

"Yeah! Thanks for the help, by the way."

"Ah, that's cute," Cocoa, the strawberry blond, said as she walked to them on the other side of the counter.

"They're ready," Rize informed.

Cocoa put the two mugs on her tray and brought them over to the two customers. Honoka watched as she brought them over, seeing the smiles on their faces as they looked in their mugs. Honoka felt a bit of satisfaction before looking around.

"Say, Rize-san. Is it usually like this? With not a lot of people?"

"Not always. It tends to be busier, especially a little later during the day. And it gets busier around certain holidays as well."

"I see."

"You'll have plenty to do, soon enough. I wouldn't worry if I were you."

"Hehe, okay!"

Just then, Anju walked around and sat in the chair on the opposite side of the counter from Honoka and Rize. She laid her arms out and rested her head on the counter.

"A-are you okay, Anju?" Honoka asked.

"Yeah..." came her slow reply. "Just... a lot... to remember."

"I-I see..." Just then, Honoka felt a tap on her arm.

"Honoka-san, it's your turn," Chino said.

"Okay."

"Honoka-chan," Cocoa called before they turned.

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Do you happen to do autographs?"

Honoka just looked blankly back at Cocoa. Cocoa pointed to the table she came from. Honoka looked over, finally noticing that they were students. One from UTX, and another from Otonokizaka.

"How did I not notice that before?" Honoka asked herself.

Chino sighed beside her. "Go ahead, just be quick, please."

Honoka nodded her understanding and went over to the table. As she got closer she realized that these were two first-years. She asked them if they could keep quiet about this, to which they agreed so Honoka would sign something for them.

* * *

Nozomi stood outside of the shop she had caught sight of earlier. She managed to separate herself from Eli, saying she needed to find a bathroom. Normally, Eli saying she'll continue searching would bug Nozomi, just a bit. But it works in both their favors this time, as Nozomi wanted to sneak away from the rest of Muse. Making a note to hold it over Eli later, she walked into the shop.

She quickly realized as she walked in that it was a coffee shop. She saw that that it was far from busy, and thought she'll have an easier time finding who she was looking for. And it didn't take long to find out that her suspicion was correct.

"Welcome to The Rabbit House," Honoka said before she caught full view of Nozomi. "Eh? Nozomi-chan?"

"Hello, Honoka," Nozomio said, smiling.

"I... Uh... This isn't-"

"Honoka? Did you already forget what to do?" Anju joked as she walked over. Then she noticed Nozomi. "Ah- You're-"

"I know who I am, thank you," Nozomi interrupted. She looked at Honoka. "Can I have a table in the back and hard to see from the window? I want to talk to you."

Honoka only nodded, and showed Nozomi to a suitable table to her request. After she went to ask Chino if it was okay, which Chino didn't mind only because business was slow today. Honoka apologized a few times before she returned and sat down with Nozomi.

"Look, Nozomi-chan, I can explain! I was just-" Honoka began in a hurry.

Nozomi cut her off. "Honoka, stop. I'm not mad at you or anything."

"...Eh?" Honoka was almost too surprised to be relieved.

"The others are here trying to find you. But I'm not mad at you. So please, just relax."

"Nozomi-chan..." Honoka wiped away a stray tear. "Thank you."

"Now, explain to me what you've been up to."

"Well... um... I've taken a part time job here... eheh."

"Yes I can see that. Honoka, relax, you can trust me."

"Sorry. Well, I took a part time job because I want to do something nice for Tsubasa-chan."

"Something nice for Tsubasa_-chan_, huh?" Nozomi stressed the _chan_ part enough for Honoka to blush.

"Y-yeah. She helped me out so much, and she's always doing nice things for me and spoiling me. So, I wanted to do something in return, to show her I appreciate it and care for her. Anju then had this idea, since she wants to do nice things for Erena, too. So, starting today, we'll be working here."

"I see... As sweet as that is, it wouldn't have gotten through ones like Eli-chi or Umi with how far into Love Live we are. I can understand why you didn't say anything."

Honoka nodded. "Well, also because we want to surprise Tsubasa-chan and Erena. So we've been keeping this a secret from everybody."

"Makes sense... But, you realize it'll be hard on both of you when Muse and A-Rise start really training hard."

"I know. It's only temporary until Love Live is over. After that, we'll more officially be working here."

"I see. Well then, I'm glad that you've thought and planned ahead, somewhat. And don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

"Thanks, Nozomi-chan."

Nozomi smiled. "Now then, about my order..."

* * *

Nozomi made sure it was clear for her to leave the coffee shop later. Almost as she did, she got a text message from Eli, reminding her to meet back with everyone.

"So, anything?" Eli asked the group.

"Nope, nothing," Umi said, a bit annoyed and disappointed.

"We couldn't find her or any clues," Maki reported.

"Same thing, nya," Rin said.

Nico sighed. "Well, looks like we wasted the day."

"Well, it didn't matter in the end," Kotori said. "We can't practice properly without Honoka anyway."

"Yeah... By the way..." Eli looked at Nozomi. "What were you doing the rest of the time."

"Ah, well I thought I saw Honoka, but it turns out it wasn't her at all. Then I got a little distracted in a hobby shop.," Eli said

"I see..." Nozomi could tell Eli was disappointed.

"How about we all go home," Nozomi suggested. "If we stick around any longer, we might all just start getting upset."

"Maybe Nozomi-chan is right," Hanayo said.

"Alright..." Eli sighed. "We'll call it a day for now then."

Nozomi hugged Eli. "It's okay. We tried, right?"

The eight of them left town. The others were having a conversation, but Nozomi was unusually quiet again. She was lost again in her thoughts, plagued by a single line of thought.

_I'm so sorry, Eli-chi. I don't want to lie to you, but it's probably better this way._

* * *

**Hey guys, nobodD here!**

**So in the end, I decided to just use their names. I was going to wait a bit to see what people's opinions were... but no one said anything *shrugs*. I'm not creative enough anyway so I probably couldn't have come up with names xP**

**Nozomi is so nice... (in my writings anyway). hehe.**

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter still. As always, I would love to hear your thoughts in the reviews. I'll also answer questions if you have any.**

**Eli: **Hey, can you try to keep it down. The others are sleeping already.

**Ah, sorry about that. *Quieter* Anyways, it's lucky for me that it was only the first week of the semester last week. Had some ideas and managed to get these last chapters for you all.**

**Eli: **But you'll be responsible about your assignments this semester and not prioritize FanFics, right?

**Hai... mostly.**

**Eli: **I heard that.

**Well before something happens, I'll see you all next time!~ *runs***


	19. Misunderstanding

***Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

"How could you disappear like that without telling anyone, again? You realize how important the next few weeks are, right? Were you even thinking before running off like that?"

Honoka sat as still as she could. She knew Eli was at a point beyond reasoning, and would just have to sit where she was and take all the criticism and lecturing the blond had in store. If this was when the two had first met, Honoka would probably be on her feet challenging her right now. But something in the back of her mind told her that would be far from an ideal way of handling this.

Nozomi, who stood a little off to the side of Eli, could only wear an apologetic look. _I'm sorry I can't do more,_ it said. Honoka managed the faintest of smiles toward her spiritual senior. She knew Nozomi was being honest, and she appreciated it. Even Nozomi hasn't had to deal with Eli this angry before, so there was no telling what to do to calm her down.

The other Muse held silent while Eli's lecturing continued. On the one hand, they felt bad for Honoka, just sitting there and letting Eli have her way. Yet on the other hand, they knew Eli had every reason to feel like this, and Honoka had kind of earned this lecturing in the first place. They were also a bit annoyed with Honoka themselves, only if their reasons were that the searching yesterday had interrupted all their date plans afterwards.

"Do you know how much trouble you caused for us yesterday? We couldn't practice because we were out looking for you. How could you be so irresponsible?"

_How ironic_... _Usually being able to keep a part-time job is considered responsible._ Honoka thought bitterly.

"We can't be wasting any more time. You're our center and leader, Honoka. Why don't you start acting like it?"

Honoka finally snapped. "Why don't you act more like a Student Council President then?"

"What did you say?"

Honoka got to her feet. "You don't even know what's going on. And yet you're here just making assumptions. I could be suffering, you know. I could have lost my family. I could've been in the hospital. I could have some deadly disease. Yet, you don't care at all, do you?"

Eli was caught completely off guard by Honoka's outburst, and Honoka saw the hesitation in Eli.

"The old Student Council President, the old Eli, was much more caring about others than this. What happened to her? She would've made sure I was okay. She would have asked if something bad had happened. Instead here _you_ are. Here you are lecturing me and just assuming I have no good reason for doing anything. Leader you say? Center you say? I don't even want to be part of Muse right now if this is what I have to deal with now."

Honoka picked up her bag and walked to the door. She opened it and stepped halfway out before turning back. While somewhat addressing the whole room, her next questions were aimed more at her long standing friends.

"What happened to making sure I'm okay? What happened to looking out for my happiness?"

She left the room. It might be because she slammed the door, because some students and teachers poked their heads out of their rooms. However, by this point Honoka had hid the anger bubbling inside her behind a rather normal expression, and they had lost interest in the ginger walking through the hall.

Honoka walked without stopping until she reached the school gates. She sighed, letting the last of her hateful feelings leave her. She felt a little disgusted in herself for acting like that.

_I probably deserved it all in the end._

Once she calmed down enough, she decided it'd be bad to try and return to the others now. Instead, she started walking again while pulling out her phone. She dialed some numbers and touched the call button on screen.

"Hello? Cocoa-chan? Hey something came up. I'll be going to work early today."

* * *

The air was still following the loud thud of Honoka leaving. The other Muse were too shockd by the sudden outburst to react right away. All except Nozomi, who just sighed.

"Looks like you've done it this time," she said simply.

"W-what just happened?" Hanayo asked nervously.

"Do... do you know something, Nozomi-chan?" Kotori asked.

"Do you not see how much pressure you're all putting on her?" Nozomi asked all of them.

"What do you mean?" Maki asked.

"Honoka is dating A-Rise's center, the leader of our competition next round. You may have shown her your approval of their relationship, but that fact still remains. That's extremely confusing for her to deal with. One the one hand, you're all saying you're happy for them. But on the other hand, you keep emphasizing how we need to beat A-Rise. How does Honoka simultaneously try to make her girlfriend happy and work towards going against that happiness? Even while you say otherwise, it's essentially like telling Honoka to choose between us or Tsubasa."

Everyone was quiet while they reflected over Nozomi's words.

"Why couldn't she just tell us that, then?" Umi asked.

"Have you known Honoka to ever put her feelings before anyone else's?"

Rin shook her head. "No... Honoka-chan always thinks of others."

"Exactly. She obviously wants t make Tsubasa happy, since they're dating. But she also wants us to be happy. Yet trying to balance that eventually cornered her."

"And she took off yesterday... to try to get some space?" Nico guessed.

"Exactly."

The room was quiet again, as all heads turned to one, witnessing something strange. It was almost as bad as Honoka being angry. Tears slowly rolled down Eli's cheeks.

"Did... did we really put her through all that?" Eli's voice shook. "Were we really that blind _again_? Did I really change like that?"

Nozomi hugged Eli from behind, trying to comfort her.

"She probably hates me..."

"She doesn't hate you," Nozomi reassured her. "I think she just felt hurt, going through something she thought we've moved on from."

"But she said-"

"Everyone says some things they don't mean when they're upset or angry. Weren't you saying some exaggerated things to Honoka as well?"

"Well... yeah..."

"Just give her the space she needs. She'll come around. You know she'd never abandon any of us, no matter what."

She smiled sweetly to try and reassure the group. _Well, I did promise not to reveal her job. I guess saying her outburst is because of being pressured is a good cover story,_ she thought.

* * *

Anju stepped through the front door of The Rabbit House. She was quite surprised to see Honoka already in uniform and working.

"I came in early today," Honoka told her.

Anju proceeded to the back to dress into her uniform. Cocoa walked in while she was in the middle of changing.

"Ah, Anju-chan!" Cocoa said happily.

"Hi, Cocoa-chan."

"Hey..." Cocoa lowered her voice. "Do you know what's wrong with Honoka-chan?"

"Something is wrong with her? I had no idea."

"Oh. Well it seems she didn't go to practice today. And she looked really upset when she came in."

"I see..." Anju did her best not to worry. "Well, we'll help her out after then, won't we?"

"Of course!"

Cocoa rummaged through her locker until she found what she was looking for. Once she pulled out the hairpin, she walked back out. Anju had been slightly distracted, but had quickly shook off her thoughts to finish changing and rejoin the others outside.

_Honoka has something bothering her... huh?_

Anju had watched Honoka working for the last hour. If she really was upset by something, she was a master at hiding it. Not once did a smile leave her face. She handled her work perfectly. As far as Anju was concerned, Honoka was acting the same as always.

Or maybe that's exactly the point. After all, Anju only has a little bit of experience with Honoka. And according to Tsubasa, Honoka had all of Muse fooled before. If those who were her best friends were tricked by Honoka, then Anju may very well be seeing that same game.

_Well, it's not like I'm Tsubasa. If she wants to tell me, she can. But I shouldn't go snooping into her life._

Satisfied with that, Anju went back to focusing on working. Or at least, she tried to stay focused. But every so often she caught sight of Honoka, and the questions started coming back. Was she faking it? What happened? Will she be okay?

Luckily there was enough customers that she couldn't dwell on the thoughts for too long. Eventually they would go away each time as she wrote down orders and carried drinks around. She just happened to walk by the door as a familiar face entered.

"Ah, Toujou-san. Welcome," She greeted.

"Hello, Yuuki-san," Nozomi greeted with a smile. "Just one again, please."

"Right. This way."

Anju led Nozomi to the same table she sat at yesterday. Nozomi ordered a cafe latte, and asked that Honoka draw something in it for her. Anju brought the drink order back, and called Honoka over. She told her Nozomi's order and then pointed out the table. Anju barely caught a flash of fear on Honoka before it turned to a typical surprised look.

_Well, I guess that answers that question,_ Anju thought.

She watched as Honoka brought over the latte to Nozomi. Nozomi was smiling, and had a few things to say to Honoka before Honoka came back behind the counter.

"What was that all about?" Anju asked.

"Nothing really," Honoka replied. "Nozomi-chan says she wants to talk to me about something after our shift is over."

"Is it about what's bothering you?" Anju realized too late what she just asked, but she covered her mouth as if that'd help.

"So you noticed?"

"...Cocoa-chan pointed it out. Sorry."

Honoka shook her head. "You don't need to apologize. I'll tell you about it when I talk with Nozomi-chan, afterwards."

"Alright.."

With another smile, Honoka went back to work. Whatever guilt Anju had been feeling about a few seconds ago was instantly replaced with curiosity. She watched the ginger clean up a table, wondering what on Earth could upset such a happy girl.

* * *

Nozomi was allowed to wait inside the shop as the five went about the closing procedures. Honoka, Nozomi, and Anju left together, walking through the empty nighttime streets. Anju listened while Nozomi recalled the events that took place in the clubroom earlier in the day. She cast a side glance to Honoka, who was walking between the two of them. Her eyes were focused on her feet, a guilty expression across her face.

"I-I see..." Anju said once Nozomi finished explaining.

"Yeah... Anyway... I told them that you were just under a lot of pressure," Nozomi told Honoka. "They seemed to believe it. So your secret is still safe."

"Thanks, Nozomi-chan," Honoka said, still staring at the ground.

"Hey, everything will work out," Anju said, trying to cheer her up. "We just need to earn what we can, and take Tsubasa and Erena out somewhere nice with what we have before we all start practicing hard for Love Live. Then we won't have to be keeping secrets anymore."

"Yeah... You're right..."

"Don't be so worried," Nozomi said. "If you're still upset with what happened, just apologize tomorrow for yelling. You won't need to mention this yet, and they'll apologize to you as well, I can tell."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

Honoka had gone quiet into her thoughts for a few moments. Their words finally seemed to work, as Honoka smiled for the first time since they left.

"Thanks, Nozomi-chan. And you too, Anju-chan."

"That's what I'm here for," Nozomi said, relieved.

"You're quite welcome," Anju said. "Looks like your escort has arrived."

"What do you mean?"

Anju pointed ahead, and Honoka followed her finger. They saw a lone figure under one of the street lights.

"Tsubasa-chan!"

As if she's never known sadness, Honoka found the energy to run up and hug her girlfriend. The amount of force that went into it nearly knocked Tsubasa over.

"Well, at least she seems better now," Anju said as she and Nozomi looked onto the two.

"Mm... I wouldn't say that just yet... I feel like there's still much in store for her..." Nozomi said.

Though she was curious as to why Nozomi answered so vaguely, Anju once again told herself not to pry. So she left it at that, and they all went their separate ways.

* * *

**Hey guys, nobodD here!**

**I really don't know what to say about this chapter. Consider it a preview of what's to come. I apologize in advance, if you don't like dramatic endings. Cause we're going down that route :X At least there's some time, right?**

**Uhm, let me hear some feedback. This chapter is... definitely surprising in context of the story. It is pretty necessary though. Nozomi doesn't realize how much truth her words really have here.**

**Nozomi: **Oh? How right was I then?

**I can't tell you, it'll ruin the surprise.**

**Nozomi: **Aww, that's no fun.

**Anyway, I hope people stick around, and I'll see you next time~**


	20. Repairing

***Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

The walk for Tsubasa had seemed very normal. It was a peaceful night. Honoka hugged her arm the usual way she did when they were alone like this. Tsubasa was recalling her day for Honoka. She went over what they covered in class, though she knew Honoka wasn't very interested in that. She also mentioned A-Rise was starting to prepare for Love Live. Honoka listened and responded in her usual happy tone.

However, Tsubasa was in for a surprise when they reached her house. Once they were in her room, Honoka immediately ran into Tsubasa's arms. Honoka broke down, burying her face into Tsubasa's chest and crying. It took Tsubasa a while to calm Honoka down enough, but finally she did and Honoka explained what had happened earlier.

"I see..." Tsubasa said, wiping another tear from Honoka's cheek.

Honoka nodded. "I said such horrible things to everyone... What kind of friend am I?"

"Hey..." Tsubasa pulled Honoka close. "Overreacting doesn't make you a bad friend or anything."

"But... I made Eli-chan cry..."

"Look. If you didn't say anything at all, then things might end up like the practice issue before. And that would've been worse for all of you, right?"

"Well... I guess so..."

"See? So don't worry so much. Just try and apologize to them tomorrow. That's all you can do for now."

"I guess you're right... Thanks, Tsubasa-chan."

"Of course. Do you feel better now?"

"Yup! A lot better now."

Honoka had been sitting on Tsubasa's lap, but got up now so she could hug Tsubasa and give her a kiss, which lasted a while. Tsubasa slipped in just enough air before Honoka pressed in for another kiss. After a few more kisses, Honoka had Tsubasa pinned on her bed, and Tsubasa felt Honoka's hand leave hers in favor of another place on her body.

* * *

Despite all her efforts, Honoka was far from calm the following morning. She would follow Tsubasa's advice and try to apologize to the other Muse. But most importantly, she needed to apologize to Eli first. She wasn't sure if Eli would even give her another chance, which is why she was so troubled right now.

Honoka wasn't aware of much of her surroundings as she made her usual morning walk to school. It was only until she made it into her classroom and the bell rang that she realized she had almost been late. She noted that Umi and Kotori had taken notice of her as she walked in, but made no effort in approaching her. Whether it's because class was about to start or they were planning on avoiding her, Honoka couldn't know for sure. Maybe her leisurely pace this morning actually worked to her advantage.

Classes went like normal, for the most part. Honoka's focus had generally been better since dating Tsubasa, as Honoka actually listened to her when she said she didn't want Honoka slacking off anymore. Though right now was more of a reflection of her old self. She had no interest in what lesson was being taught right now. She couldn't even tell you which subject they were in right now. However, a very rare visitor made an appearance, which caught the whole class by surprise.

"Ah, Toujou-san," the teacher said, causing Honoka to look up.

"Good morning," Nozomi said. "Sorry to interrupt, but do you think I could see Kousaka-san? The Student Council President would like her for something."

"Ah, of course. That's fine."

Honoka's heart probably skipped a beat or two upon hearing Nozomi's words. She felt the gaze of everyone in the room on her. If she was worried before, she was close to having a panic attack now. She kept her composure though, nodding to Nozomi and getting out of her seat to leave the room.

"Relax, Honoka," Nozomi said softly as they walked through the quiet halls. "Nothing bad will happen to you, I promise."

Nozomi quickly saw that her words were having no effect on the ginger. Honoka's eyes remained glued to the floor in front of her, and she remained completely silent. Nozomi sighed. She wasn't even sure if there were truth behind her words, as Eli wasn't very easy to talk to yesterday either. It was the first time that she could remember that she wasn't able to easily read the blond. But she had hoped saying those things would encourage Honoka, or at least relax her a bit.

The rest of the walk was silent between them. They reached the Student Council Room, and Nozomi gestured for Honoka to stop, and finally Honoka took her eyes off the floor to look at her senior. Nozomi put a finger to her lips, signaling that she wanted Honoka to stay quiet. Once Honoka nodded her understanding, Nozomi knocked three times on the door, then waited. _Come in_, they heard from the other side. Nozomi held out her left arm to keep Honoka from moving, opening the door with her right.

"Ah, Nozomi," came Eli's voice.

"Hi there, Eli-chi," Nozomi greeted in her usual manner.

"So what was the reason for excusing us from class? Don't tell me you want to do _those_ things here at school."

"Ah, none of that," Nozomi said. The arm she had used to keep Honoka from moving now grabbed the ginger and gently nudged her into the room.

"E-eh?!" Eli said, completely shocked upon seeing Honoka.

"Sorry, but if Muse is going to pull through for Love Live, all nine of us need to be working together. And that means you two have some things that you need to work out. Neither of you are leaving this room until you two came make up and finally reach an understanding."

Nozomi went back out the room and shut the door before the other two had time to recollect themselves. Because the room was silent, they noticed there weren't any footsteps leaving, meaning Nozomi was still there, guarding the door.

_No escaping,_ Honoka thought dully.

Slowly, nervously, Honoka turned back to face Eli. As she gazed upon the Student Council President, she got to see the full effects of her previous actions. Eli couldn't look Honoka in the eye. There was no trace of the usual composure or confidence in her expression. Eli also looked like she barely got out of bed this morning. For all Honoka has been worrying this morning, it looked to be a lot worse on Eli.

"Eli-chan?"

"H-huh?" Eli's voice shook. "W-what is it?"

Honoka took a deep breath. "Look... I... I'm sorry for what I said to you yesterday. It's just... that some of the things you were saying weren't true. I know it's because I've been keeping secrets, but it still hurt for you to say some of those things when you didn't know. And... I ended up losing my temper. I overreacted, and said horrible things I shouldn't have said... I'm sorry, Eli-chan. I'm sorry for what I did."

Eli didn't respond right away. There was quite a long silence that followed, and it started to make the ginger nervous again. Eli seemed to be considering a lot of things.

"I... I appreciate the apology... But after yesterday... I can't just easily forgive you," Eli finally said.

"Oh... Alright... I understand..."

"That's not to say I won't forgive you. It's just... I think you need to prove yourself to me this time."

"What do you mean?"

"Well first off... Why did you run off the other day? What are you hiding? I want to know."

Honoka sighed. "I'll tell you. But please, you need to keep it a secret, at least for now."

"It depends what it is."

"I got a part-time job, and my first day was the other day."

"You wha-" Eli was about to yell in surprise.

"Shh!"

"Why would you get a job when we're in the middle of Love Live?"

"I thought we would have a bit of a break until we started really practicing again. They were going to let me miss a few weeks when we started practicing seriously, so I thought it would be okay."

"Okay, but why do you even want a part-time job?"

"I want to be able to do something nice for Tsubasa-chan. And I don't want her to find out until then."

"So you didn't tell any of us to keep it a secret as possible?"

Honoka only nodded. Eli seemed to be heavily thinking about something again. The extended pause made Honoka start to think that Eli is probably not happy with her reasons. After a little longer, Eli took in a deep breath.

"Alright then..." she said. "I understand."

"You understand... what?" Honoka asked.

"What it is you've been doing, and why you've acted a little differently lately. You don't have to worry, I won't tell the others about your secret. And, _now_ I forgive you, Honoka." And then Eli finally smiled.

Honoka fell to her knees, a huge wave of relief over her. "Mou... don't do that Eli-chan. You were scaring me there for a bit." Honoka managed a smile as well. "But, thank you."

Eli crossed her arms. "Don't thank me just yet."

"...Huh?"

"I forgive you for keeping a secret. But I still need you to prove yourself to me that something like this won't happen again."

"...And how do I do that?" Honoka had a really bad feeling about the answer.

"Well, Nozomi already has something worked out."

"Nozomi-chan?" As Honoka said her name, Nozomi finally opened the door and came back in. She turned around to her spiritual senior. "Wait, so you did tell her?"

"Tell her what?" Nozomi asked, smiling.

"Nozomi wouldn't tell me anything," Eli said. "But she did say she had a plan to fix Muse."

Honoka's eyes fell to the floor. "So I was set up."

"Well you did keep a secret from me," Nozomi said playfully. "But never mind that, let's get back to your apology. You know that we'll need successors once we graduate, right?"

* * *

"Become the Student Council President next year?" Tsubasa repeated, completely surprised.

Honoka barely managed a nod. "Nozomi said I need to show I can be trustworthy to the two of them again. If I can handle the responsibility, they'll be convinced."

"I see... Have you had to help them the entire week after practice?"

"Y-yeah, after practice."

"I guess that explains why you came in and collapsed onto the bed."

Eli and Nozomi kept true to their word, not telling any of the others about Honoka's extra activities. But in exchange, every day after her time at The Rabbit House, the two of them would come to Honoka's house. They brought a set of work that Honoka had to finish before they left that day. As a result, she couldn't see anyone, not even the other Muse, during that time period. This was the first time Honoka and Tsubasa got to be together in two weeks.

"Practice is only going to get harder on Monday, too..." Though she actually meant that they were going to start practicing again.

"Aww, it'll be okay. I know you'll be able to handle it just fine."

"Thanks... That's nice to hear." They shared a kiss. "Hey, are you doing anything tomorrow?"

"I don't think so. Why?"

"Let's do something together. A-Rise is probably going to be practicing really hard soon too, right?"

Tsubasa nodded. "Guess it'll be our last chance to spend together until after this round, huh?"

"Yeah... So what do you say?"

"Of course, I'd love to."

"Great! Come by my house at noon tomorrow."

"Alright, now..." Tsubasa crawled over to where Honoka was laying. "Can we please do something now?"

"Now? But I'm still tired."

"After what you did last time we were together, you don't expect me to wait do you?"

Honoka smiled. "Well, as long as you're leading this time."

Tsubasa smiled back. "Leave it to me."

* * *

**Hey guys, nobodD here!**

**So I was a bit wrong about my weekly workload, haha. But I managed to finish this chapter for you all in the end. Sorry about the delay, but I do what I can.**

**Honoka: **What's with all the referencing?

**I'm trying to keep it rated T. Like you need any details anyway.**

**Honoka: **Hey!

**I'm kidding!**

**Honoka: ***Sighs.* Anyway... So the surprise is finally coming next chapter?

**Yep. We got that, then we have to wrap up this whole Love Live thing, and then...**

**Honoka: **And then... what?

**... Nothing.**

**Honoka: **What are you planning?

**It wasn't my idea I swear.**

**Honoka: **What in the world are you talking about?

**Yukiho: **Here, you might want to read this.

**Where did you get those papers?**

**Yukiho: **You left them on the table.

**Honoka:** Eh? Chapter notes? *starts reading*

**Uh... *Hurriedly* Well I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Let me know what you think and I'll see you next time! *runs***

**Honoka: **What is this?! Why you-! *chases*


	21. Her Wish

**Nirru-Kun: Thanks :3 And I can't really explain it without this story no longer just being T... lol. I can point you to some examples but I'm not going in depth in this story. Hope you understand.**

***Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

Unlike most nights she spent with Tsubasa, Honoka went home fairly early last night. With all the work she's had to do the past two weeks, and with Muse started to practice again after the weekend, Honoka wanted as much rest as she could get. It's also why she asked Tsubasa to come over around noon. She wanted to sleep in a little extra today.

She was in for a bit of a disappointment, however. She felt a pair of hands on her shoulder, followed by some shaking to knock her out of her pleasant rest.

"Hey. Hey, wake up."

_Maybe if I don't respond, it'll stop._

The shaking continued. "You really should wake up soon."

"Let me sleep a little longer," Honoka said.

"If this keeps up, you'll end up sleeping through our date."

"But I- ... Wait, date?"

Finally Honoka turned over in bed. Tsubasa greeted the startled ginger with her soft smile.

"Finally. I was a little worried for a bit there," she said.

"T-Tsubasa-chan? What are- How did-"

"Well, I realized I couldn't wait all the way until noon to see you. So I came a bit earlier to see you. As for how, well your family invited me in."

"I see... Well, I guess you've seen me looking worse, anyway."

"Aww, you're morning look is adorable in its own way."

"If you say so. Now... Where's my morning greeting?"

"You didn't give me a chance to give it yet." Tsubasa lowered herself to kiss Honoka, then smiled as she stood back up. "Good morning, Honoka-chan."

"Good morning, Tsubasa-chan." She glanced at her desk clock. "Oh.. I really would've slept through today, huh?"

"Yeah, you would have. Luckily I did come early, or you'd still be asleep right now."

"Heh, well thank you for that. I guess this means we can match, too."

Tsubasa raised an eyebrow. "Is that really the first thing you think about?"

"Not really, but it's probably something you were thinking."

"You know me pretty well now," Tsubasa said, smiling.

Honoka smiled back as she got out of bed. "I do. Now come on, you can pick out my clothes while I get ready."

* * *

Together, the two of them walked into town. Tsubasa tried a few times to get some idea of the plans out from Honoka. However, Honoka would only smile and say to be patient.

"Well, here's the first stop," Honoka said. They were outside The Rabbit House.

"A coffee shop?" Tsubasa asked. "Why are we here?"

"Because I need to pick up something for our date."

"...Coffee?"

Honoka just laughed at Tsubasa before she led the confused A-Rise leader inside.

"Honoka-chan!" Cocoa greeted as they stepped through the door.

"Hey, Cocoa-chan," Honoka responded.

Cocoa was about to run up to hug Honoka when she saw her holding hands with Tsubasa.

"Ah, is this..."

"Honoka-chan?" Tsubasa asked. "What's going on?"

Honoka first turned to Cocoa. She gestured with her free hand to Tsubasa. "This is Tsubasa-chan. She's the one I've been talking about. And Tsubasa-chan, this is Cocoa-chan. She's one of the waitresses here."

"Nice to meet you," Tsubasa said, bowing.

"Nice to meet you, too." Cocoa returned the gesture. "So, you're Honoka-chan's girlfriend, huh?"

"Y-yeah. And you're..."

"One of her co-workers. You're pretty, by the way."

"T-thank you... Wait... _co-worker_?"

"Yeah," Honoka answered. "Anju and I work here part-time."

"You wha-?"

"Ah, Honoka," Chino said as she joined them. "My dad is waiting in the back."

"Thanks, Chino-chan."

Honoka brought Tsubasa to the back room, so she didn't have to be overwhelmed by Cocoa right away. Chino's father had her pay ready and waiting. They spoke for a bit about when the next round was and when she and Anju are expected back.

The entire time, Tsubasa remained quiet and confused. It wasn't until they left the shop and were back outside that she got the time to finally ask Honoka the questions she wanted.

"So, you've been here for two weeks now?"

Honoka nodded. "With Love Live, though, I'll have to stop for a while when Muse starts practicing again."

"I can't believe it... And why didn't you tell me?"

"Well, Anju and I wanted to do this to get some money so that we could do some nice things for you and Erena. We wanted to get it done, and when we had enough, we'd take you out and surprise you."

"So this was the surprise... But still, why go through the trouble of hiding it all along?"

"Come on, if you found out, you would have tried to talk me out of it."

"Well... of course."

Honoka stopped Tsubasa from walking by stepping in front of her and turning around.

"You're always doing such nice and sweet things for me. Like before we were dating, when you bought me this hairclip, or giving me your favorite teddy bear. I want to be able to do the same things for you. And if you found out before I had enough, you probably would've tried to stop me, or do more things in return."

"... You really do know me well," was all Tsubasa could say.

Honoka smiled. "Even if you end up getting back at me for this, at least give me today."

"Well, alright." She kissed Honoka. "Just for you."

"Hehe, thanks. Now come on. Today is all for us, and we can do whatever you want to do. And it's all my treat."

Even though she agreed, Tsubasa was a bit hesitant at first to act on Honoka's offer. They started out simple by getting something to eat first. She tried to at least help a little bit, but Honoka wouldn't let her. They had eaten at a fast-food restaurant, and Honoka was a little hungry even after they left. They passed by a crepe stand, and Tsubasa asked that Honoka buy one for them to share. Honoka was happy to do so, and even more so when she got to feed Tsubasa while they continued walking around.

"Do we really have to go in there?" Tsubasa asked.

"Yes," Honoka replied. "You agreed remember?"

"Well, yeah... But-"

"It's fine. Come on."

Honoka pulled Tsubasa into a store for collectables. It wasn't the shop itself that Tsubasa didn't want to come here for, but she had a bit of a problem. She was never really one to hold back when it came to collectables. There were shelves next to her desk just for the figurines she couldn't stop herself from getting. And those were only the ones that she could fit. Honoka knows her tendencies very well, she could guess as well.

"When did you get to be like this?" Tsubasa asked as they walked in.

"_This_?" Honoka asked. "Mmm, I guess Nozomi-chan and Eli-chan left a bit of an impression on me."

"Really? Of all the things to learn from that punishment..."

"Don't worry. It'll be worth it."

"Maybe for you, but-"

Tsubasa didn't get to finish her thought. She looked around at the displays when they finally stopped.

"Hey.. aren't those from-"

"The manga I showed you? Yup. I never really mentioned how popular it was, did I?"

"That was probably for the better... Because I probably would have gotten most of this by now..."

"Hehe, I know. I did say we can get whatever you want, but try not to make it _too_ much, okay?"

_Not too much_ was a bit too hard for Tsubasa to handle. Between the trading cards, replica necklaces, figurines, plushies, buttons, and more, she couldn't really decide rationally what she should and shouldn't get. It was another reminder by Honoka that it was her money and not Tsubasa's that got the excited A-Rise leader to settle down on the things she wanted. Still, it was most of what she wanted anyway, as Honoka gave her a very generous amount to work with.

The rest of their date turned into more of a sightseeing tour. Not because Honoka had little money left, but because of how bad Tsubasa felt after spending the amount she had on collectables. She also wouldn't let Honoka spend any money on herself for the rest of the day either. And no matter how much Honoka insisted, she could not convince Tsubasa. So they just went in and out of the other stores in town. They would try on clothes or pick stuff up off shelves, but they would never follow through and buy anything. At least, until one last try.

"Hey, remember this store?" Honoka asked as they walked in.

"We bought some stuff here on one of our first real dates," Tsubasa said. "I remember it very well."

"Yeah." She brought a hand to their hairclips she was wearing. "Starting with this."

Tsubasa smiled. "It's nice being here and all, but we're not buying anything anymore, right?"

"Just one thing, please."

"Well... It depends what it is."

"Come on, I'll show you. They should be ready."

Honoka led Tsubasa further into the store.

"Ah, you're here," the guy said behind the counter. "One second, I'll get your order."

"Order?" Tsubasa asked as the guy disappeared into the back room.

Honoka nodded. "It's the last part of my surprise for today."

They waited patiently until the clerk came back. He handed Honoka a small box, and Honoka gave the money to pay for it. Tsubasa asked if she was going to open it, but Honoka said they had to be somewhere specific first.

They exited the shop and started walking to leave town. Tsubasa was wondering what place Honoka had in mind, and why all this secrecy still. Part of her question was answered, as they eventually found themselves at a specific park. They continued a bit more until they sat down on a certain bench and Tsubasa put down the bags she was carrying.

"Alright, here you go," Honoka said, handing the box to Tsubasa. "Open it.

She didn't need to be told twice, since her curiosity had quickly gotten to her. Though, all she could do was stop and stare once she opened the box. She placed a hand inside to see if what she was looking at was real. Then she looked back to Honoka.

"Are these... really..."

Honoka nodded. "Yup."

Tsubasa picked up one of the two charm bracelets sitting in the box. There were only three charms on it right now. They were two musical eight notes, a heart, and the hiragana character _Ho_. The other bracelet still sitting in the box had the same charms, but a single wing rather than the hiragana character. But the part she still couldn't believe had to be the bracelet itself.

"You even got them engraved?" Tsubasa asked.

Honoka only smiled in response.

"But, how did you know they would do that?"

"You probably missed it the first time we were there, but there were some bracelets with engravings on one of the shelves. I went back after Anju and I had the idea to get jobs, and put the request in when they let us work at The Rabbit House."

"Wow... I... I don't even know what to say."

"Then let me. You know, I'm really glad that of all people, you were the one that found me on this bench that day. You've been such a huge part of my life ever since. No matter what was happening, you had helped me get through it. You've supported me no matter what. Right before we started dating, I started to realize how much you mean to me. And now, I don't think I'd be able to go without you. No matter what happens in the next round, I don't want it to break us apart, because I can't lose you. And well, I got these for us to show you that."

A tear reached Tsubasa's eye. "You... You're really something, you know that?"

"Uh.. well.."

"Just kiss me already."

Though she said that, Tsubasa was the one that reached over and placed her lips on Honoka. Neither let go for as long as they could, but they eventually had to so they could breathe. But rather than pulling away, Tsubasa held Honoka close.

"You don't know how long I've held feelings for you," she said. "You don't have to worry, no matter how the results go, I won't let Love Live tear us apart. Hearing some of those words from you is the most amazing feeling I've ever had, and I'm not about to let that go, either."

"Tsubasa-chan..." Honoka felt her own tears welling up. "Let's be together forever, okay?"

The answer she got was in the form of a kiss.

Tsubasa took the honor of putting Honoka's bracelet on for her. They followed that up with a few more kisses. Eventually, the two girls felt the same want to go home and be alone. They went to Tsubasa's house again, and with her parents out again, they showed each other just how far there love has come.

* * *

**Hey guys, nobodD here!**

**So, according to Ooshima Tomo, Tsubasa has a thing for collectables. Well, they were of a certain someone and not for a manga series, but I think it works in this case X3**

**Anyway, I felt there was place for one more cutesy chapter. So, here you go. I hope you enjoyed and I hope the whole thing about revealing the surprise to Tsubasa wasn't too anticlimactic. **

**I hope you continue reading~**


	22. Push

**This won't be the end, we still have a little ways to go, but...**

**I am so... SO sorry about this...**

***Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

Honoka got an actual day to just rest. And while she did spend the whole day with Tsubasa, they had decided to stay home and do nothing. The next day was the day that both Muse and A-Rise would start to ramp up their practices in preparation for Love Live. For all twelve of the girls involved, this meant that each day was going to get harder and harder. They had two weeks to pull everything together, and there would be no more time to take it easy.

Of course, the road for either group wouldn't go so smoothly. As with every round, the song used had to be an original song, and has not been performed at all prior to the event night. And Muse's first obstacle would be creating the song. Similar to an earlier round, their creative trio was having trouble. Umi in particular couldn't put together lyrics that she was happy with.

Nozomi had suggested they try coming up with a love song, to which the others easily agreed. Considering their relationships and what they've been through recently, everyone thought it would be easier this way. Though that wasn't really the case, as Umi, Maki, and Kotori were still making slow progress.

It was by chance that one day they ended up together at Nozomi's apartment. Maki _happened_ to follow Nozomi and Eli all the way to the apartment after practice. And after some conversation, the rest of Muse was invited over.

Something they haven't had in a while was time to bond. The last time they did was at Maki's family's summer house. But this night, Muse got another chance. They got to spend time together and bond as a group of nine friends, not as couples. They had a lot of fun, despite the size of the apartment. Whether or not they realized it, the atmosphere went back to before all the love and drama of the past few weeks. Of course, it was only Honoka that noticed. But she didn't say anything, recognizing how well everyone got along again.

Though they didn't talk about the song itself, the night still struck inspiration. At the meeting the next day before they started practice, Umi had finished the lyrics, Maki had composed the score, and Kotori had sketched the costumes. They could finally move forward, but now they were two days behind schedule.

Unexpectedly, Honoka suggested that they all give up their weekend to make up for those two days. While a few were a bit hesitant, Eli and Nozomi backing Honoka up on her decision convinced the rest of the group. Though, this meant that they would be practicing every day until the day before. By this point, everyone understood that it was necessary, and made sure to take care of themselves outside of practice.

So for the next week, Muse juggled their idol practice with their school work. Maybe all the work Eli and Nozomi made her do was secretly a blessing. She found herself thinking it'll be worth it to just do her assignments than to put it off like she usually would. Though, that still didn't take away that she wasn't exactly a model student, so it still required a lot of effort. She thought on occasion that the others probably had each other's help for their assignments. She would've probably felt jealous if the work didn't take up most of her needed effort.

Honoka and Tsubasa had agreed that, for the best interest of their friends, they wouldn't see or speak to each other in any way until this last round of the preliminary was over. Of course, that didn't stop her from thinking about the A-Rise center. A couple of times, she found herself staring at her phone as it sat on her desk or while she was in bed. She somewhat hoped it would go off, but she knew that Tsubasa knew better than to do that, especially after they promised each other.

Though, what she didn't know was how close Tsubasa actually came to doing just that.

A-Rise had a similar problem as Muse started with. But because they were only three members, everything fell upon them to handle. They worked around their block in a different way. There was also some added pressure for them. Being the reigning champions, they had no doubt that there were expectations for them to make it to the finals once again.

Whether or not those expectations were really there, the three A-Rise members felt that amount of pressure anyway. And just like with any other school idol group, they still had to balance their school work in the middle of all this.

In the middle of the second week, Tsubasa had almost been tempted to call Honoka. Between the pressure, practice, school work, and a hint of exhaustion, she really could have done with hearing her voice. One night she had begun dialing the number, but luckily she came to her senses after seeing her bracelet.

* * *

The night of the final preliminary round finally came. It was to be set in the town square. The space provided a nice stage, and the biggest audience they've seen yet. The area was decorated by dazzling lights, and the excitement and energy of the crowd was felt all around.

A-Rise had just finished their performance. Muse watched off to the side, in a separate area from the rest of the crowd. They all watched as expected, but one person paid extra attention. After all, it was the first time she got to see her lover in two weeks.

As she watched them get off stage, Honoka felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and met the turquoise eyes of her spiritual senior.

"Hey," Nozomi greeted. "You okay?"

Honoka nodded. "Don't worry, I'm confident that we'll do well."

"That's good to hear. But that's not what I meant."

Honoka turned back to where A-Rise last was. "I know. We haven't seen or talked to each other for the last two weeks. I can't wait until this is over."

"It will be soon enough. But you know what we have to do first."

"Of course," Honoka turned to smile. Then she went to hug Nozomi.

"Oh? What's this all of a sudden?" Nozomi asked playfully.

"I just want to thank you. You've been looking out for Tsubasa-chan and me ever since that day. Even if I didn't notice before, I do now. So, thank you."

Nozomi smiled and played with Honoka's hair. "What are friends for?"

The two of them returned to the other members. They were all busying themselves with their clothes and each other's. Not that anything was out of place, but it was a way to calm their nerves a bit. They all stopped as they saw Nozomi and Honoka approach.

"Well, this is it," Eli said, looking around. "It's finally time."

The others looked to Honoka, who nodded. "This is what we've been working towards from the beginning," she said. "I'm really proud and happy that we were able to even make it this far together. But we're not stopping here. Muse won't stop until we've reached our goal. We will be the best. We will win Love Live."

Eli smiled. "Well said. Alright everyone, hands in."

They did their usual cheer before a performance. The stage lights had dimmed, and they were asked to take their places on stage. They did so, all the while the noise from the crowd slowly dying away. Once they were set, and the place was silent, the piano introduction to _Snow Halation_ started.

* * *

The cheers from the crowd was very relieving as Muse exited the stage. Of course, those cheers alone weren't enough to decide the winner. Still, the crowd never lost its energy, and it was still as noisy with chatter as at the beginning while everyone patiently waited for the results.

Muse and A-Rise were in the back along with some others, getting their belongings together before they went out to join the crowd to wait for the announcement. Unlike with the crowd, it was silent between those in the back. No one really knew what to say to each other, other than a quick compliment here or there.

Honoka had gotten her bag already, and looked around until she found who she was after. Luckily it didn't take long, as Tsubasa had done the same.

"Finally," Honoka said, immediately going up to embrace Tsubasa.

"The wait is over," Tsubasa said, smiling.

"Yeah..." Honoka tightened her embrace. "I've missed this so much."

Tsubasa held tighter as well. "Me too... It's been too long."

As Honoka was letting go to face Tsubasa again, she suddenly felt a lot of weight against her. She held Tsubasa up until she could straighten herself.

"Are you okay?" Honoka asked.

"Yeah... Just a bit tired."

"Well, we can go to my place after the results are announced."

Tsubasa smiled. "I can't wait for that."

"Um, Honoka," came Umi's voice as she walked up to the two. "We're all about to go outside. The announcement is soon. Do you want to come?"

"Ah, of course," Honoka replied, smiling. "We'll be right behind you."

Umi nodded before she turned around to rejoin Kotori and the others. Tsubasa told Anju and Erena, and together both groups made their way out into the crowd. They all made sure to let go of each other, as their relationships still weren't publicly known. The only ones to know about Muse and A-Rise's dating lives were their families and friends from school. They let each other go just in time, as they were greeted with cheers and applause the instant they were outside.

Tsubasa and Honoka stayed with their respective groups for the results, but they made sure to keep each other in sight. Once the winner was known, they would slip away together at the first chance they got. Easier said than done, as they were getting impatient.

After a few minutes, one of the large screens was showing _Love Live_ blanked out. The crowd took notice immediately as people were pointing and talking about it. The crowd started to quiet down as words were passing across the screen, and finally the moment they were waiting for arrived.

* * *

After letting their groups know that they would be leaving, Tsubasa and Honoka slipped away from the crowded area. It was quiet between them for a while, as they soaked in the events of the night. They were happy, but they were also very tired. With the round finally over, and the excitement for one starting to die down, they felt their efforts from the past weeks start to catch up with them.

"Congratulations again, Honoka-chan," Tsubasa said.

"Thanks, Tsubasa-chan. Are... Are you doing okay?"

"Just a little tired... But I'm fine. Still surprised that we lost, though."

"I'm surprised, too. You three were really good when you went on stage."

"Even so, you all were better in the end."

Honoka glanced over at Tsubasa, who has yet to take her eyes off the ground.

"Are you sure there's nothing wrong?" she asked.

"I'm fine, really." Tsubasa finally looked to Honoka and smiled. "I'm happy for you. But I'm just really tired."

"Okay.. Well, it is the weekend now. We can spend the night together again."

"My parents are out again. We can go to my house."

"Great. We'll have the rest of the night to ourselves."

Tsubasa returned her attention to the ground. "Yeah... That'll be nice."

Honoka smiled. "Is someone thinking of _those _things again?"

Tsubasa didn't reply, and Honoka assumed she was lost in her thoughts now. Honoka took the time to pull her phone out of her backpack, so she could tell her family where she was going to be. She paused as she reached the stoplight to start dialing her sister's number. Though when she looked up, she noticed someone who should've been next to her.

"Tsubasa?" She called out.

She didn't answer as she continued to cross the street absentmindedly. Honoka was about to call out again when she noticed lights shining from the side. She turned to look further down the street, and her heart nearly stopped. Her bag and phone dropped onto the sidewalk as she moved instinctively, rushing out onto the street.

Tsubasa felt something push her from behind. The sudden force had send her flying forward onto the sidewalk. Before she really had time to get her bearings, there was a loud skidding sound behind her, followed by a loud crash. She spun around instantly. There was a truck crashed into a wall nearby, with tire marks in the path that Tsubasa would have been in that moment, had she not been shoved. But what else she saw made her freeze, horrified. She rushed back onto the street, dropping to her knees as she arrived.

"Honoka-chan?!"


	23. Revelation

**I owe you all an apology. But please read until the end.**

***Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

"Umi! Kotori!"

The two second-years turned around.

"Nozomi-chan! Eli-chan!" Kotori called back, waving as they waited for their seniors to catch up.

"Did you two get a lot of rest this weekend?" Eli asked.

"Yes, mostly," Umi answered. "We just stayed at my house most of the time."

"It's relaxing at Umi-chan's house," Kotori added. "Except when she becomes all serious. We had to do all our assignments the morning after Love Live."

"You're the one who suggested we worked together for school work," Umi said defensively.

"Well, yeah, but that's because you were so shy back then. I couldn't get you alone to myself and give you kisses."

Umi rolled her eyes, but turned to give Kotori a kiss. Both Nozomi and Eli laughed.

"Looks like that isn't a problem anymore," Nozomi said playfully.

"Nope!" Kotori said cheerfully while hugging Umi tightly.

"By the way, you two remember about today, right?" Eli asked.

Umi nodded. "After our meeting for Muse, we'll follow you two to the Student Council Room."

"I still can't believe that you managed to get Honoka-chan to become your successor," Kotori said. "How did you do that?"

"There's a condition to it," Nozomi answered. "But we'll let Honoka too everyone herself later today."

Eli nodded. "But for now, class is about to start. So we'll see you both later."

The four ended up inside the building. They said their goodbyes before splitting up and heading toward their classrooms.

* * *

Muse got together in the clubroom after school. Kotori and Umi were the last to arrive.

"Sorry we're late," Kotori said as they walked in.

"It's fine," Nozomi said. "It's only been a few minutes."

"Say, where's Honoka-chan?" Rin asked.

"We're not sure," Umi answered. "She didn't come to class today."

"She didn't huh?" Eli said.

"Relax," Nozomi said, placing a hand on Eli's shoulder. "I'm sure she isn't skipping school or anything. There's probably a reason she's out."

"Yeah... I guess you're probably right."

"Speaking of that," Maki said, "you two still haven't explained what happened with Honoka."

"Yeah, and how you got her to agree to be the Student Council President," Nico added.

"It was sort of an agreement," Nozomi said. "But she should be the one to explain it herself."

"Though it looks like you all will have to wait a little longer before you get to hear about that," Eli said.

"Well, hopefully that's just until tomorrow," Hanayo said. "I've been really curious lately."

However, Honoka didn't she up to school for the next three days either. They didn't worry too much, because their official activities for Muse wouldn't begin again for a while. But they were starting to get suspicious. Even if she was upset about something, Honoka still would show up to class. They decided that something more serious was happening.

On the fourth day, Muse decided to stop by Honoka's house. She had not responded to any call or message they sent, yet they had some kind of feeling that she'd be there anyway. Muse met at the clubroom after school so they could leave together. They took their time walking to Honoka's house, and as they turned the corner, were quite surprised to see who was also making their way toward the house.

"What a surprise to see all of Muse here," Anju said as they met up in front of the shop.

"Surprise, or maybe coincidence," Nozomi said.

"Tsubasa hasn't been at school all week," Erena explained. "The only message we got from her was that she was going to visit Honoka. And that was on Sunday."

"It might be a coincidence after all," Eli said. "Honoka hasn't be to school all week either, but she hasn't messaged any of us."

"Well then, how about we get to the bottom of this?" Nozomi suggested, gesturing to the door.

No one disagreed, and they all made their way inside the shop. They came in to the startled figure of Honoka's mom.

"Oh my," she said. "What are you all doing here?"

"We came to see if Honoka-chan was here," Kotori explained. "She hasn't been at school all week."

"Oh... So none of you have heard?" Honoka's mom asked.

"...Heard what?" Umi asked, starting to worry.

They saw her expression sadden by a lot. "Yukiho-chan," she called.

Honoka's sister appeared from the back. "What is i-" she started to ask before she saw everyone. "Oh..."

"Can you take them to your sister's room?" she asked.

Yukiho sighed. "Fine. Follow me, and be quiet."

She didn't wait for any response and turned back around. The others exchanged confused looks as they followed Yukiho into the back where the bedrooms were. Yukiho stopped in front of Honoka's room, taking a long pause in front. She let out a long sigh before knocking on the door.

"The others are here," was all Yukiho said.

There was a pause before any reply came. "Alright, you can let them in," came a sad sounding voice from inside.

Yukiho had her back turned to the others during this. She only cracked the door open before she turned back around. She rushed back the other way as quickly as possible. Though, everyone noticed in time that she had tears streaming down her face. Almost nervously, Kotori opened the door wider and led the group into the room.

Honoka didn't have the biggest room to begin with. On any other day, the twelve of them could have probably all fit inside somewhat comfortably. But today was different. The room was a complete mess, and just walking inside required careful effort. Everything from clothes, to books, to bags, were scattered around the floor. Even for Honoka, this would have already been a concerning sign.

However, the more concerning scene was the bed. They saw Honoka laying in her bed, bandages around her head and the upper part of her right arm. Most of her body was under the blanket. But fortunately, or unfortunately, it wasn't covering one of her legs, which was wrapped up as well. Sitting on the bed next to her, holding Honoka's hand with both of her own, was Tsubasa. Her hair was a mess, and her clothes were wrinkled in many places. Her eyes shown traces of weariness, as well as newly made tears.

"What... what happened?" Umi asked. The others were too shocked to speak.

"She saved me," Tsubasa said, not taking her eyes of Honoka. "She pushed me out of the way of a truck. But she... wasn't so lucky."

"Is... is she..."

Tsubasa shook her head. "She's alive. It's a miracle her injuries weren't worse. She was only in the hospital for a few days, just to be safe."

"I... I see..."

Honoka started to stir uncomfortably, which instantly snapped Tsubasa's attention back on her. After she was quiet again, Tsubasa relaxed very slightly.

"Do you all mind waiting in the other room for a bit?" Tsubasa asked. "I need to take care of something privately."

They agreed, and left the room to walk down the hall. They waited for nearly twenty minutes before Tsubasa had come out and told them it was alright for them to come back in. Once they returned, the room had been somewhat cleaned up. Most of the stuff on the floor were put away, except for some of the clothes which were piled on the table. They also noticed that Honoka was wearing different clothes before Tsubasa had put the blankets back over her.

"How long have you been doing this?" Maki asked once they were all settled in the room again.

"I've been with her almost the entire time since the accident," Tsubasa answered. "The only times I couldn't was when the doctors weren't letting anyone stay in her hospital room. And sometimes when I make her food when her family is out."

"That explains why neither of you have been in school..." Eli said.

"How is she?" Hanayo asked. "Is she going to recover?"

Tsubasa nodded. "Her injuries were far from fatale, lucky as that is. As long as she rests for the appropriate amount of time, she should be close to normal in a few weeks. The braces are just to ensure nothing possibly injures her more."

"That's incredible that she wasn't hurt as badly as she could've been," Nico said.

The whole room was silent for a few minutes after that. Everyone either watched Honoka as she lay there, or they couldn't bring themselves to look and stared somewhere else. The only exception was Anju, who had her attention on someone else.

"Tsubasa..."

Anju's word caused the others to look at the girl. Tsubasa had tears running down her face again.

"H-hey," Erena said nervously. "Are you-"

"It's all my fault," Tsubasa said. "If I was actually paying attention, if I had been more careful, none of this wouldn't have happened. I wouldn't have been in danger, and Honoka-chan wouldn't have had to risk her life to save me."

At that, one of the girls got up and took a seat next to Tsubasa on the bed. It wasn't Erena or Anju, who the others thought would've been the first ones to comfort Tsubasa. Still, Eli placed a hand on Tsubasa's shoulder, and wore a soft smile.

"Hey, things happen," Eli said. "But the important thing is that you stayed by her side. You took care of her, even when you didn't have to."

"But... It's my fault this happened. I needed to take responsibility."

"That's not right," Nozomi said. "You can't keep blaming yourself for this. Do you think Honoka would be happy with the way you're talking right now?"

"Well... no... but-"

"But nothing. You should be happy that Honoka did this for you, and that she wasn't badly hurt either."

"She's right," Eli said. "Sure, it would've been nice if we were told a little earlier as well. But the point is, we're very thankful that you didn't leave Honoka alone. That you dropped everything to take care of Honoka yourself. You two really are perfect for each other."

"Eli..."

Tsubasa couldn't hold it in anymore. She buried her face into Eli's chest and really started to cry. Eli just smiled, closing her eyes as she embraced Tsubasa. Everything remained still for a few minutes, until Tsubasa had started to calm down again. Once she felt better, Eli let go of her and she sat up again.

"So... what's going to happen now?" Rin asked. "We still have the final round of Love Live."

"Honoka-chan should be recovered before then," Tsubasa said. "But, she's not going to be able to perform as hard as you usually do. She's going to have to take it easy."

"That's something we'll worry about more when the time comes," Eli said. "We have some time before we have to start preparing, anyway."

"What about _you_, Tsubasa?" Nozomi asked. "What are you going to do?"

"I'll stay with her so that she recovers as quickly as possible," Tsubasa said. "My parents will take care of my school situation."

"So, you'll be taking responsibility for her then?"

"I thought you were telling her not to blame herself?" Hanayo asked.

"I don't think that's what she meant by responsibility," Anju said, catching on.

"I... I plan to, eventually," Tsubasa answered Nozomi. "It's something I definitely want to do."

"Wait, what are you three talking about?" Maki asked.

"Nothing you need to worry about yet," Nozomi said, smiling to the read head. She looked back to Tsubasa. "I'm glad to hear your decision. Though, I think someone else is even more happy."

Tsubasa was about to ask Nozomi what she meant, but she felt something tug at her shirt. She turned around.

"Honoka-chan, you're awake," Tsubasa said, smiling. She took Honoka's hand in hers again.

Honoka managed a weak smile. "I'm awake."

"Look, everyone came to visit you."

Honoka took a slow look around her room. Everyone was smiling, glad to see that the ginger had woken up and was really okay. Everyone moved a little closer.

"Honoka-chan!" Kotori cried, throwing herself onto Honoka and hugging her.

"K-Kotori," Umi said. "Be careful!"

Honoka managed a soft laugh. "It's okay, Umi-chan. It only my legs that hurt much."

After Kotori hugged Honoka for long enough, she let go and took a spot on the bed. Rin was the other one that showed her happiness by hugging Honoka. After she was done, Tsubasa helped Honoka sit up, then took her spot next to Honoka while everyone else took spots on or around the bed.

"It's nice for you all to visit," Honoka said.

"Well, we were getting suspicious after you didn't show up to school all week," Umi said.

"Eheh... Sorry."

"Why didn't you message any of us?" Kotori asked.

"Well I only got cleared the other day. And I haven't felt that well until yesterday. I don't even know where my phone is."

"Now that you mention it..." Tsubasa said. "I think it's with the bag you brought for Love Live."

"You mean this one?" Nico asked, picking it up from the bedside.

Tsubasa nodded, and Nico handed her the bag. She fished through it for a couple seconds until she pulled out both hers and Honoka's phones. They turned them on and started looking around.

"W-wow..." Honoka said, shocked at the amount of missed calls and messages she had.

"W-we're sorry we worried you," Tsubasa said. Even though it was only Anju and Erena, the amount of missed calls she had was nearly the same as Honoka.

"It would've been nice if one of you remembered about your phones," Eli said.

"Well, everything was fine in the end. So no harm done," Nozomi said. "Anyway, I think we've overstayed our welcome. You probably need more rest."

Honoka shook her head. "I feel a lot better that you all are here. I don't mind if you stay a while longer."

"Eh? Are you sure?" Hanayo asked.

"I think it's fine," Tsubasa said.

* * *

Muse and A-Rise had stayed for a few hours to keep the recovering pair some company. Upon hearing and seeing their daughter and sister was doing better, Yukiho and their mom's moods drastically got better as well. The mom even offered to make dinner for everyone since they were staying a little longer. Whether it was coincidence that Honoka was feeling better when they showed up, or they actually had something to do with it, she didn't care. Her daughter was up and smiling again.

Everyone had left after dinner, though they said they'll try and visit again tomorrow. It was started to get late, so Tsubasa just changed her and Honoka into pajamas. She turned off the lights and climbed into bed. Honoka had to lay on her back, but she didn't mind as much with Tsubasa next to her.

"Seems like I won't have to worry about your getting better anymore," Tsubasa said.

"Eheh, I guess not."

"I guess that visit was really what you needed."

"I think it helped, but that's not the only thing."

"What do you mean?"

"_Take responsibility_, huh?"

Tsubasa was thankful the dark hid her blush. "Y-you heard that?"

"It was the first thing I heard when I woke up."

"I... I see."

"As long as you're fine spending the rest of your life with someone like me..."

Tsubasa got up so she could silence Honoka with her lips. Even though it was dark, they knew they were looking each other in the eyes.

"Are you kidding?" Tsubasa said. "You're one of the only ones I want to spend the rest of my life with."

"_Ones_? I like the sound of that."

* * *

**Hi guys, it's me again.**

**Let me formally apologize, as well as explain a few things.**

**First, I've had this planned for a while now. Although it was only a suggestion before, it was something I thought could be a really good ending. After the first resolution, I knew I needed something else to help finish this story. I personally felt like this was slowly turning into a mindless fluff story, and I've been told so as well.**

**Still, it was a very, VERY sudden twist to the story. Seeing the reactions now, the move was very uncalled for. I can only hope I didn't shoot myself in the foot for this, but the damage has been done. You have my sincere apologies for not at least setting up a little better, and instead seemingly springing this on you out of nowhere. Take it as you will.**

**While the original request was a bit more dramatic, I couldn't bring myself to severely injure Honoka. Because trust me, it's as hard for me to write these scenes as it is for you to read them. Maybe even harder. But I did want to stick with the idea. In the end, that meant she somehow avoided very fatal injuries.**

**Otherwise, I hope and pray this chapter somewhat makes up for the sudden dramatic turn I made you all go through. **

**This is the main story's end. But there will be one last chapter for the epilogue. If you're still around after last chapter, I thank you. The amount of backlash I got really worries me though. I promise, no more drama.**


	24. Epilogue

***Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

She sipped on her fresh cup of coffee, sighing contently. The sun was shining brightly through the windows. From her table, she could see into her backyard. It was a big yard, compared to what she had grown up with, and also nicely kept. There was a flower bed at the far end, and nearby was a big tree. The tree provided a lot of shade during these sunny days.

The young woman watched with a warm smile as two small figures were playing under the shade of the tree. The bigger of the two had ginger hair that was tied with a bow in a side ponytail, and green eyes. The smaller of the two had light brown hair that ended just above her shoulders, and blue eyes.

The ginger led with a big smile while the two continued with their pretend play. Most people wouldn't be able to tell what they were doing just by looking, but the movements gave it away to the young woman watching. It was something she had a lot of experience with, after all.

She turned her attention away from the backyard and back to her laptop sitting in front of her on the table. She took another sip of her coffee as she scrolled through web pages of news articles. After not finding anything new or interesting to look at, she switched windows and started scrolling through another site.

"Aww, what a cute baby."

She clicked on the newly uploaded album and started scrolling through the pictures. The baby in all the pictures had short purple hair, and blue eyes. It wasn't exactly clear how old the baby was from the pictures, but the woman had a good guess about, looking at the parents.

"It's been a year. We'll finally get to see them again soon, now that the baby is one."

Just then, she heard the doorbell right. She got up from her seat, checked the backyard quickly to make sure everything was fine, and then went to the front of the house. She pulled the door open, a big smile across her face as she saw who stood at the door.

"Good afternoon," Eli greeted.

"Hey, Tsubasa," Nozomi greeted casually, smiling.

"Good afternoon Eli, Nozomi," Tsubasa greeted in return. She turned her attention to the girl with long blond hair and green eyes holding Eli's hand. "And good afternoon, Ai-chan."

"Hi, Tsubasa-san," Ai said happily. "Is Aoi-chan and Himeno-chan here?"

"Yes. They're playing in the backyard. Would you like to join them?"

"Go ahead," Eli said, answering the question before it was asked.

"Thanks, Mama!" Ai said before heading into the house. She removed her shoes and brought them along as she ran for the backyard.

"Well, at least she remembered this time," Eli said, watching after her older daughter with an amused smile.

"Even if it was months ago, I think you gave her a lecture she'll never forget," Tsubasa said jokingly.

"That's my Eli-chi," Nozomi said cheerfully.

Tsubasa turned her attention to the baby in Nozomi's arms.

"So you must be Noel, huh?"

"Yup, that's her," Nozomi said before giving her baby a kiss on the cheek.

"I was just looking at her uploaded pictures. Nice to finally meet you in person." She looked up to Nozomi and Eli. "Anyway, come on inside."

After they removed their shoes, Tsubasa led them back into the living room. They all sat on one of the couches. Nozomi let Tsubasa carry Noel, who had been asleep the entire time. Once she was done passing her kid on, Eli had put her arms around Nozomi.

"Ai-chan and Aoi-chan are both three now, which means Himeno-chan is two, right?" Nozomi asked.

Tsubasa nodded. "Her birthday just passed last month."

"Aoi-chan is starting to really look like Honoka, especially with that hairstyle," Eli said, looking at the three kids in the backyard.

"Yeah, though she has Tsubasa's eyes," Nozomi observed.

"Speaking of which, where is Honoka?"

"She's upstairs, giving Nemu-chan a bath," Tsubasa answered.

"Ah, right. Your youngest child."

"Yes. A month apart from Noel, just like their older sisters."

"That's right," Nozomi said. "Though, Ai-chan is the older of the two in that case."

"Yeah. And their birthdays mean they'll still be in the grade after Himeno-chan."

"Hehe, how convenient."

"Ah, I thought I heard some familiar voices," came a new voice.

They all turned to see as the ginger woman walked into the room, with a baby in her arms.

"Honoka!"

Eli let go of Nozomi so she could get up and greet Honoka first. She carefully hugged Honoka, as to not disturb Nemu. After, Nozomi took her spot on the couch again, and Honoka let Nozomi hold Nemu. Once she was secure with Nozomi, Eli got up to greet Honoka with a hug before the two of them took spots on the couch next to Nozomi and Tsubasa.

"So, how has everything been?" Eli asked. "It's been a while since we've seen you."

"Everything's been fine," Honoka answered. "Living in a quiet neighborhood like this means not a lot of exciting things happen."

"Something to look forward to then," Nozomi said.

"Hmm, does that mean..?" Tsubasa asked.

"Yes, we're going to be moving in this area soon," Eli answered.

"Really? That's great!" Honoka said excitedly. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

"We didn't really have time, with the new baby and all."

"Ah, right. And how are you doing, Nozomi-chan?"

"A lot better now," Nozomi replied. "Noel-chan didn't give us trouble like Ai-chan did."

"Yeah, but it still wasn't easy on Nozomi," Eli said.

"What about you, Honoka? Mother of three now?"

"Eheh, yeah. I'm fine though. All three of them were easy to have," Honoka said.

"Heh, lucky you. Thinking of having another one?"

Honoka shook her head. "Unless Tsubasa-chan says otherwise, I think we're happy with three."

"I still can't believe Rin and Hanayo have three as well," Tsubasa said.

"Yeah," Eli agreed. "It's brave of them to have another after having twins. Especially for Hanayo."

"She's definitely changed from that shy girl we first met," Nozomi said.

"Yeah. It's already been seven years since then, huh?" Honoka asked.

The four of them started to catch up on the things that have passed since the school idol group known as Muse separated. How Otonokizaka High School was when Eli, Nozomi, and Nico graduated. How things were before the nine got back together. And how things were after their reunion and settling into their current lives.

Both Muse and A-Rise as school idol groups disbanded after graduation. Muse did reunite after Rin, Hanayo, and Maki graduated. However, their professional idol careers didn't last long. They ended up taking different routes to find jobs and raise a family.

As they were talking, the glass door leading to the backyard opened. The three kids took their shoes off and hurried inside. One moved quicker than the others, and as she turned to the couches, she tripped over herself, landing on the carpeted floor in front of the adults.

"Oww..." the small ginger said as she picked her head up.

"Not your best landing, sweetie," Honoka said playfully.

"Mommy!" Aoi was instantly on her feet and ran to Honoka.

"I was only upstairs. Did you miss me that much?" She asked, picking up Aoi and setting the girl on her lap.

Aoi wrapped her arms around Honoka's neck. "Yes. I don't like when your or Mama are gone for too long."

"She was only upstairs for twenty minutes, sweetie," Tsubasa pointed out.

Nozomi giggled. "She really is like Honoka in so many ways."

"Hehe, yeah," Honoka said, hugging Aoi tightly.

Himeno and Ai finally caught up. Ai climbed onto the couch and then took a seat on Eli's lap. Honoka helped Himeno onto the couch. Aoi let go of Honoka and sat between her and Tsubasa, letting Himeno take her spot on Honoka's lap.

"Mommy, is Shiro-chan going to come over today?" Aoi asked.

"Yes. Actually, everyone is coming over today."

"Really? Is that true, Mama?" Ai asked.

"Yes. All of us wanted to get together again, now that the babies are a little older," Eli told her.

"Which means you get to see all your friends again," Nozomi said.

They barely heard the sound of the front door opening and closing. "I'm home!" a voice called out.

"We're in the living room, Cocoa-chan!" Honoka called out.

"Okay!"

"Pardon the intrusion," they heard another set of voices say.

"Is that..." Eli was about to ask.

Cocoa walked into the room, followed by two others. A girl with black hair that fell past her shoulders and green eyes, and another with short blond hair and blue eyes.

"Ah, Sharo, Chiya," Tsubasa said.

"Hello everyone," Chiya, the black haired girl, greeted.

"Ah, Eli and Nozomi are here to," Sharo said.

"Hey you two," Nozomi greeted with a smile. "It's been a while."

"Yeah. Good to see you two again."

"By the way, where are Chino-chan and Rize-chan?" Honoka asked.

"They said they'll be here late," Cocoa said.

"Cocoa-san," Ai said. "What's in the bags?"

Cocoa smiled. "I bought all your favorite snacks."

"Yay!" Aoi cheered. "Snacks!"

"Aoi-chan, shh," Honoka tried quieting her daughter down.

It was a bit late, as Nemu started to cry.

"Oops... Sorry Mommy," Aoi said apologetically.

"Eheh, it's alright."

Honoka got up and sat Himeno on the couch next to Aoi. Then she went and got Nemu back from Nozomi.

"Alright, come here." She picked up Nemu, who calmed down right away. "There we go. That's better."

"Mama, can I have some snacks?" Ai asked, tugging on Eli's sleeve.

"Sure, go ahead," Eli answered.

Ai hugged Eli, then jumped off the couch and ran up to Cocoa. Aoi helped Himeno off the couch and they followed Ai. As the kids gathered around Cocoa, and Sharo and Chiya sat down, the doorbell rang again.

"I'll get it," Eli offered, getting up.

"Thanks Eli-chan," Honoka said.

"Well, while you take care of that, I kind of miss my baby now," Nozomi said playfully. She got up and got Noel back from Tsubasa.

Eli made her way to the front and pulled the door open.

"Hello there," she greeted.

"Ah, Eli. You're here already," Umi said.

"Hello, Eli-chan," Kotori greeted cheerfully.

Eli then turned her attention to the blue haired, amber eyed girl standing between the two and holding one of their hands in each of hers.

"And hello, Shiro-chan."

"H-hello," Shiro said shyly.

"Come on inside. The other kids are about to have snacks. There might even be sweets."

At the mention of sweets, the two-year-old's eyes lit up. Her shy mood quickly vanished as she hurried into the house.

"S-Shiro-chan," Kotori tried calling.

"Hmm, I wonder where she gets that love of sweets," Umi said sarcastically.

"Eheh, well why don't you come in as well?" Eli suggested.

They both thanked her before they proceeded inside. Eli was about to close the front door when caught sight of a certain red head walking down the sidewalk, holding hands with a girl with long black hair and violet eyes.

"Hey, Maki!" Eli called, waving.

"Ah, Eli." Maki waved back.

Eli waited for Maki and her daughter to get to the front door.

"Hello, Kisara-chan. I like your dress."

"I suppose so..." The three year old said, not making eye contact.

"Yup, just like your parents." Eli smiled. "Speaking of which, where's Nico?"

"She'll catch up in a bit. She had to park a little far," Maki said.

"Mama's just being slow," Kisara remarked.

"Well, why don't you both come inside?" Eli asked.

Both just quietly agreed, and walked inside. Eli stayed by the door, waiting for Nico. She didn't have to wait long, as Nico quickly made her way to the house.

"There you are," Eli said.

"I thought this was a quiet neighborhood. Why is there never parking?" Nico asked, not really expecting an answer.

Finally, Eli got to close the front door. She and Nico made their way into the living room, which was now a lot more lively with all the recent arrivals.

"Cocoa-chan, I think we should get started with lunch," Honoka said, still carrying Nemu.

"Ah, alright." Cocoa put down the back of snacks and picked up the other bags they brought.

"Do you want me to take Nemu-chan?" Tsubasa asked.

"I can handle her," Honoka said. "Just make sure our girls aren't causing trouble."

"Are you sure?"

"She'll be fine. She's one, it's not like she could get herself out of her highchair."

With that, Honoka led Cocoa and Chiya into the kitchen. As they left, the doorbell rang once more. But before Tsubasa got to move, she felt a small arm tugging at her hand. She looked down, and smiled.

"Would you like to see who's at the door with me?" she asked Himeno.

"Yeah!"

Tsubasa picked Himeno up and they walked to the front door. As she opened it, she was caught a bit off guard by the nine people standing there. Once the door was opened enough, three of the girls rushed in. A three-year-old with brown hair and blue eyes, as well as two-year-old twins with short orange hair and purple eyes.

"Ah, Ami-chan, Mami-chan! Sorry Tsubasa-chan," Rin apologized before heading in after her twins.

"I guess I should make sure Asuna-chan isn't getting into anything bad," Erena said, before following in after Rin.

"Uhm... Mama?" Himeno asked slowly.

"Did you want to go play with them again?" Tsubasa asked.

Himeno nodded, and Tsubasa put her down so she could run after them.

"Eheh, sorry about that," Hanayo said. She was carrying Haruka, her and Rin's one-year-old daughter with brown hair and green eyes.

"They were quite excited when they found out everyone else was going to be here," Anju said. She was carrying her and Erena's own one-year-old Yue, who had purple hair and eyes.

"It's fine. I wouldn't blame them I guess," Tsubasa said. "It's excited for us as well."

"Yes. We get to reunite after so long," Hanayo agreed.

"Well come on in. Wouldn't want to be standing out here the entire time," Tsubasa joked.

The three went inside and back into the living room. The room got quieter again, and only Nozomi, Kotori, and Maki were still there. The other halves of their pairs were outside. They were with all the kids, except for Noel, who still slept in Nozomi's arms despite the earlier noise. Tsubasa, Hanayo, and Anju took spots on the couches alongside the other three.

"So, what's new with everyone?" Anju asked.

"I showed Ai-chan the old shrine I helped out at in high school," Nozomi said. "She's starting to take an interest in my tarot readings as well. Otherwise, Eli-chi is still a ballet teacher."

"Just like her parents, Umi-chan is starting to teach Shiro-chan about her traditions, starting with traditional dances," Kotori said. "And I am now a manager at the cafe in Akihabara."

"Recently the town's symphony has been taking more and more of my compositions," Maki said. "And thanks to Nico-chan, Kisara-chan is starting to take interest in idols."

"Rin-chan and I started a daycare business at our house," Hanayo said. "The kids all love Rin-chan, and our girls get to have playmates each day."

"Erena recently got promoted at her company," Anju said. "Since she's out longer now, Asuna-chan has been helping me with Yue-chan at home."

"Honoka-chan works at a children's center," Tsubasa said. "And after she helps out at her family's shop. I work at The Rabbit House, and also help out with the Kousaka's shop."

"You're both working two jobs?" Hanayo asked.

Tsubasa nodded. "We want to earn enough to comfortably support the five of us."

"Not a bad idea," Nozomi said. "Some of us weren't as well off as others after high school."

"Hey, I didn't follow the rest of my family and become a doctor," Maki pointed out "So we don't make as much."

"I know, I'm just joking."

Maki sighed, causing Nozomi to smile.

"Aww, look at everyone outside," Kotori said.

The others looked out in the yard. They saw all the kids in a group, led by Aoi and Ai. As they watched the girls continue to play, it brought a smile to their faces.

"Looks like we're raising another idol group," Nozomi said jokingly.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they do want to become idols when they get older," Tsubasa said.

"Well, if they all end up going to the same school, it's definitely possible," Maki pointed out.

"I think it'd be so cute if they all wanted to be school idols like we were," Hanayo said.

"They are all our kids, it's only a matter of time," Anju said.

"Let's hope that's without all the problems we went through," Honoka said, walking out of the kitchen.

"I don't know, you seem to have a habit of drawing attention to yourself," Nozomi teased. "I wouldn't be surprised if any of your girls are like that as well."

"They'll definitely be like that," Anju said. "Both their mothers were our centers. Attention is only natural."

"I kind of hope that's not true," Tsubasa said.

Cocoa came out of the kitchen as well. "You know... if they really _do_ take after you all and become school idols, isn't it possible they start liking each other as well?"

"... That's a real possibility, isn't it?" Maki asked.

"That's fine though," Honoka reassured. "We'll get to be even closer than with Muse and A-Rise."

"Then we really will be like a big family," Kotori said.

"That wouldn't be a bad thing at all," Hanayo said cheerfully.

"Yeah, it could be a lot of fun," Anju agreed.

"Seems like our girls' fates are set," Nozomi said with a smile.

"Hopefully that doesn't include all the drama," Anju said.

"Maybe the drama is exactly what they'll need," Tsubasa suggested.

"Eh? Why do you say that?" Hanayo asked.

"Because all that drama is why we're here," Tsubasa explained. "If it wasn't for that rainy day, Honoka-chan and I might not have fallen in love, and everyone might have grown apart."

"You... may be right about that," Kotori admitted.

"We should all be thankful for that experience," Honoka said. "With it, we found out how we truly felt about each other. And we got to become a lot closer."

"A little cliché, don't you think?" Tsubasa asked jokingly.

"Did she take the words out of your mouth?" Nozomi teased

Tsubasa smiled. "Every single one."

Honoka just kissed Tsubasa before she and Cocoa returned to the kitchen to finish cooking. Tsubasa, Nozomi, Hanayo, Maki, Kotori, and Anju started talking about recent news and other random topics. Eli, Umi, Nico, Rin, Erina, and Sharo let the kids continue to play until lunch was ready. The ex-Muse and ex-A-Rise members finally came together.

_Maybe this is a preview of the future,_ Tsubasa thought as she looked at everyone gathered around. _What it will be like to be a big family with everyone here._

Not that she could have known this moment, but she wasn't wrong with her guess.

* * *

**Almost done. Just one last set of Author notes/comments from me ;)**

**First, let's talk about the kids. Yes, science babies. I apologize, but I really wanted to. X3 Felt a little more appropriate for this story. Also, so I did the usual thing of mixing characteristics of each parent for the kids, like the eyes and hair. But I didn't want to do that for the name. Instead, the names are all references to characters of different anime that sort of resemble that mix of facial features. The only exceptions are Noel, Ami, and Mami. Noel is the typical mix of parent's first names, just the romanji way rather than mixing hiragana characters. Ami and Mami don't look like a mix of Hanayo and Rin, but they are twins. I just looked through a bunch of anime I've watched to find these, but those three were the only ones I couldn't match. Yes, I was that stubborn about making this work. It's was mostly for my own amusement, haha.**

**Here's where the names come from. There's also pictures in my dropbox if you'd like a visual:**

**- Aoi, Himeno, and Nemu are all from the **_**D.C. ~Da Capo~**_** universe. Aoi and Himeno are from **_**D.C. III**_**, while Nemu is from the original **_**D.C.**_

**- Ai is from **_**Kamisama no Inai Nichiyoubi**_**.**

**- Shiro is from **_**No Game No Life**_**.**

**- Kisara is from **_**Black Bullet**_**.**

**- Ami, Mami, and Haruka are from **_**the iDOLM STER**_**.**

**- Asuna and Yue are from **_**Mahou Sensei Negima?!**_

**Next, this chapter was interesting. Basically the only idea for the original plan I had for this chapter was the very beginning, with Tsubasa and the kids. Other than that, this chapter was changed a few different times until it ended up like this. I won't bore you with details, though X3**

**As far as naming goes in this, because it wasn't never really mentioned, it goes off how the parents are addressed. **_**Mama**_** is used for the one I felt would act a little more "fatherly" than the other. **_**Mommy**_** is more self-explanatory. In that same way, whichever of the two is referred to as **_**Mama**_** would be the last name used. Tsubasa and Honoka **_**Kira**_**, Nozomi and Eli **_**Ayase,**_** etc. Originally I would've had that referenced in the chapter. But the chapter changed a lot and it never came up again.**

**µ's + A-Rise = 12 girls. So, 12 kids. And because their ages in high school are 15, 16, and 17, the kids are 1, 2 and 3. And three for each year (with the exception of six second-years between µ's and Arise), so four kids for each age. As far as deciding how many kids and which age each couple got, the only basis I had was that I wanted Tsubasa and Honoka to have three kids, one of each age. Eli and Nozomi I wanted them to have two kids, oldest and youngest. As for Hanayo and Rin, I just entertained the idea of her having twins, though I ended up sticking with that and then giving them another one. After that the other three couples kind of sorted themselves out. **

**Did I overdo it with all the themes and stuff? Seeing how much I had to explain, I think I did. Haha.**

**Final thing, I felt like at least bringing the GochiUsa girls back one last time. Yeah, they would've been in pairs too, but kind of like Love Live, I don't have preferred pairings for them X3. So they're left without that in this chapter.**

**Well, that's about it for this story. Thanks so much for reading it. Got a little shaky in some spots, but we came out alright. For the last time, let me know your thoughts on the chapter, and the overall experience you had with this story. And no, I don't have any interest in making a sequel to this story. Sorry X3**

**Once more, thank you so much for reading. Hope to see you again.~**


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